NERM is dedicated to the protection and integration of unaccompanied minors in Greece and has recently expanded its services to vulnerable adults. The goals of NERM can be separated into the following categories: 

Accommodation and Relocation Management:

• Coordinate referral, accompaniment, and integration of minors into facilities.
• Manage accommodation requests, ensuring suitable placements.
• Establish and implement quality standards for procedures concerning unaccompanied minors.
• Coordinate actions for reception and hosting initiatives under international treaties and programmes like voluntary relocation.

Evaluation of Hosting Facilities:

• Set and monitor quality standards for hosting facilities.
• Conduct on-site inspections with state and other organisations.
• Develop and apply tools for evaluating service’s quality.
• Design interventions to improve service quality and support service providers.
• Maintain a register of hosting centers and supervised apartments.

Social Integration Support:

• Plan and evaluate programmes for integrating minors into Greek society.
• Find family members, manage family reunification, voluntary return, and relocation processes.
• Collaborate with authorities and organisations for these processes.
• Raise awareness about the protection of unaccompanied minors.

Institutional Protection:

• Coordinate government and private organisation actions in areas like accommodation, health, education, and employment.
• Design legislation, instructions, and procedures for improving institutional protection.
• Propose measures for the National Strategy for unaccompanied minors.
• Work with local and central authorities to implement the National Strategy’s objectives.

NERM established partnerships with civil society organisations such as the Network for Children's Rights in Attica and Arsis in Thessaloniki. These organisations run Information Offices and Mobile Units. Unaccompanied children can visit these offices for information on housing rights, legal assistance, and psychosocial support. Social workers and psychologists assess the children’s needs, coordinating with NERM to secure emergency housing.

Mobile Units escort unaccompanied children to police stations for identification, healthcare facilities for medical exams, and finally to emergency housing. Since April 2021, 4 437 unaccompanied children have been housed.

Currently, 5 emergency accommodation facilities operate nationwide, managed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), offering psychosocial and legal support, education, and healthcare. The facilities assess each child’s need for suitable long-term housing.

Following the outbreak of the ongoing war in Ukraine in February 2022, NERM developed a special process for registering and assessing unaccompanied minors from Ukraine in collaboration with police and relevant authorities.

The results are multi-level, based on the many actions of NERM. The NERM annual report for 2023 provides the following key figures:

• NERM’s hotline started in April 2021. 10 475 calls have so far been received, regarding 7 750 distinct cases. Of these, 6 452 requests were for housing, 678 for legal assistance, and 620 for other support services. Since March 2 2022, the hotline has also handled referrals for 4 unaccompanied minors, 10 orphaned minors (with escorts) from an Ukrainian orphanage, and 573 separated minors from Ukraine.
• From January 2016 to January 2024, 49 982 referrals have been made for unaccompanied minors.
• In 2022, the National Guardianship System for Unaccompanied Minors was established with the aim of safeguarding the best interests of UAMs. This system is designed to enhance their overall well-being, ensure their rights are effectively protected, and provide a flexible and functional model that adapts to the evolving and increasing needs of this vulnerable group.
• As part of the "Harmonisation, Establishment, and Certification of Best Interest Procedures" project, which is being executed in collaboration with UNHCR and the European Union Asylum Agency, the General Secretariat has launched a pilot programme for a new Toolkit. This Toolkit is designed to standardise tools and harmonise the procedures for assessing the best interests of the child. It is anticipated that the Toolkit will aid guardianship professionals in effectively carrying out their responsibilities.
• Efforts to develop a child protection system focused on de-institutionalisation are ongoing, including support for integrating unaccompanied minors into the national foster care and adoption system, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Cohesion and Family.
• In 2023, the Accommodation Unit processed approximately 4 600 housing requests for UAMs and managed their transfer and placement into long-term accommodation facilities.
• From April 2021, until December 2023, NERM has provided emergency accommodation to 4 437 UAMs. In 2023 alone, 1 356 UAMs were housed in these facilities.
• The "UAM Mental Health Hub," launched in May 2022 with SOS Children's Villages Greece and funded by the Government of Tyrol and SOS Children's Villages Austria, aims to boost mental health support for UAMs in Greece. In 2023, it trained 800 professionals, provided clinical supervision in 41 centers, and trained 50 psychologists in trauma-focused therapy. Key developments include new guides, therapeutic groups in Athens and Thessaloniki, and the "I support my friends" peer support tool.
• In 2023, the mentorship project celebrated its second year, with 68 activities, 46 visits, and the participation of 869 UAMs.

The progress achieved reflects a dedicated commitment to support the well-being and protection of unaccompanied minors, setting a standard for future efforts.

The results and achievements presented above and the recognition NERM has received are evidence that the programme can be evaluated positively. For example, the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons and Institutional Protection was awarded second place among 14 EU Member States following its presentation of NERM at the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) conference. This annual competition, hosted by the Spanish Presidency in Valencia, focused on best practices in human trafficking prevention. 

No official evaluation of NERM has yet been made public, however relevant information is included in several reports and publications about the initiative, which are available online. A recent annual report is attached below.

UAMs and vulnerable individuals seeking or granted international protection, as well as - by extension - those working with them and their wider communities.

The programme is funded by the migration and home affairs funds of the Ministry of Migration & Asylum of the Hellenic Republic, as well as the General Secretariat for Vulnerable Persons & Institutional Protection, co-funded by the European Union and HOME Affairs fund 'Safety for all / 2021 - 2027'.