On 10 October 2017, the City of Athens was awarded the first prize of the European Union's Urban Innovative Actions call for proposals in Brussels. Its project proposal Curing The Limbo targets both newly arrived refugees and vulnerable locals that are unemployed. It will capitalise on the strong civil society in Athens to help them overcome the state of inertia they find themselves.
The city will pilot different and tailored pathways to access affordable housing in exchange for limited hours of community service. Participants will also be provided with language classes, psychological support, as well as knowledge on their rights and duties. With the five million euros budget, the City of Athens proposal includes cooperative actions to address the inertia of refugees due to long waiting in Athens and the feeling of uncertainty about their future.
The proposal was based on prior experiences in managing the Temporary Housing Scheme for Refugees and the Coordination Center for Immigrants and Refugees. The programme is to be implemented in partnership with the Catholic Relief Services, the International Rescue Committee Hellas, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Athens Development and Tourism Promotion Company.
For this second Urban Innovative Action call proposals, a total of 16 cities have been selected among 206 proposals from 21 EU countries.
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