A new Child and Family Support Hub (CFSH or “Blue Dot”) is inaugurated today, as the result of the collaboration between the City of Athens, and more specifically the Department for the Support and Social Integration of Migrants and Refugees, and the NGO SolidarityNow. The initiative, which targets refugee and migrant women and children, is supported by UNICEF, with European Union emergency support funding. It forms part of a wider network of collaborations created by the City of Athens for the management of refugee flows and the development of a framework for the social inclusion of refugees and migrants.

Women and children constitute a significant part of refugee and migrant flows. They are considered as a group with specific needs, since they are more likely to be exposed to multiple forms of discrimination and exploitation. The City of Athens recognized the need to provide services to this population at an urban level and asked for UNICEF’s support, which, in cooperation with Solidarity Now, already operates seven Child and Family Support Hubs across Greece.

The CFSH aims at becoming a unique hub for the provision of psychosocial support to those who need it and for the promotion of their smooth integration to the Greek society. In particular, the following services will be offered at the CFSH, located at the third floor of the building on 45 Mezonos str.:

• Information on issues of interest to the beneficiaries, such as hospital care, housing and material assistance.
• Support to the process of introducing children to the Greek educational system.
• Psychosocial, recreational and educational activities for minors, including creative groups aiming at promoting their socialization.
• Identification and referral of vulnerable people to specialized services, including: families, children at risk with emphasis on unaccompanied children, people with disabilities or illness etc.
• Psychosocial support and empowerment for women, with a focus on mothers, counseling on care issues and networking with services. The aim of the Center is to empower the beneficiaries, thus enhancing their role as mothers.
• Support to women who have survived gender-based violence by providing counseling and interconnection with the necessary services.
• Referrals to other services, when necessary.

The CFSH is staffed with qualified personnel by SolidarityNow and the Department for the Support and Social Integration of Migrants and Refugees, including social workers, psychologists, educators and interpreters. Additionally, the Hub will host scientific personnel of other organizations and services working with refugees and migrants. Moreover, it will provide child care to mothers, for the time period that they are consulting with the social workers.

The CFSH will complement the wider framework of services provided to refugees and migrants at the building on Mezonos street.

More specifically, in the framework of the ESF budget 2014-2020, the City of Athens will create two Migrant Integration Centers (MICs). One of them will be hosted on the ground floor of the Mezonos building and the other will be located at more distant areas of the Municipality. The MICs will be staffed with specialized scientific personnel and will aim to work as a “one stop services point” for anyone who requires information, guidance and support to cover a wide range of needs.

The CFSH will be interconnected with other initiatives and programs for refugees and migrants, as well as with the social services of the Municipality and of other institutions, constituting a place of protection and support.