Athens, January 29, 2019: The Hellenic Initiative (THI) stands by The HOME Project donating $ 32,400 and aims to reinforce its work to help the thousands of unaccompanied minors who have been registered in Greece since 2015 to find a real Home and feel children again. THI donation covers a part-time psychologist and part of the psychiatric supervision for children accommodated by The Home Project for a full year.
Its widely known that over a million refugees have arrived in Greece the last three years. Amongst them, many children are currently without a home, living in camps, police stations, detention centers or even on the streets. Conditions rendering them vulnerable to many perils such as violence, sexual abuse, exploitation and organ trafficking.
Standing for ‘Help, Overcome, Motivate, and Empower, The HOME Project (www.homeproject.org) has a multidimensional mission: First, to bring unaccompanied minors to safety in dedicated shelters where they receive a holistic network of services including educational, psychopaedagogical, legal, medical and social integration services and care. Second, to source, refurbish, and convert unused buildings into shelters, bringing them back to life and into good use. Third, through the conversion, refurbishment, and ongoing operation of these shelters to create employment, for Greeks as well as for the refugee and migrant population. The HOME Project was founded in December 2016 by the Libra Group, and recently scaled up its operations following a grant from the IKEA Foundation. In two years The HOME Project has provided a holistic network of child protection services to more than 300 children in 11 homes, while creating more than 130 jobs.
Mr. George Logothetis, Chairman and CEO of the Libra Group, and member of the Executive Committee of THI stated: “Over half of the refugees forced to leave their homelands and arriving in Greece are children, many of them alone and forced to fend for themselves. The HOME Project provides sanctuary for these neglected souls and has shown how care, community and love can transform young lives.”
Michael Printzos, THI’s Program Director, added: ‘The HΟΜΕ Project’ is an excellent example of humanitarian care and it’s an honor for The Hellenic Initiative to support its purposes”.
Ms. Sofia Kouvelaki, Executive Director of The HOME Project stated: “At ‘The HOME Project’, we believe in the collaborations that share a common goal and vision. We are grateful to The Hellenic Initiative for their generous donation, substantially supporting our mental health program. The donation of THI strengthens our efforts and makes a significant difference in the lives of refugee children in Greece by providing them with safety and dignified living conditions”.
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