Housing Assistance Program

At OpenRefuge, our mission is to make friends, share stories, and be present in the needs of the refugee crisis. Our goal is to empower our refugee friends to rebuild their future. As well as to support the amazing volunteers on the ground.

We began this journey by making regular trips to Greece in order to connect with refugees and the many volunteers. This is our way to make friends. We have sat and shared stories and cups of tea, played soccer and blown many many bubbles, as well as sharing meals and great laughter. We have heard incredible stories of survival, heart-wrenching stories of loss, and anger-fueled stories of pain and frustration.

In the midst of this journey, we have continuously run up against the housing situation. There are currently an estimated 67,000 refugees in Greece and 11,000 of them are said to be homeless. Our first initiative is to develop a housing assistance program that helps place vulnerable families and persons in apartments. We can lease apartments 200 to 300 euros per month. Many of these apartments can fit up to four persons or two families each. We can also furnish these apartments for an additional 600 euros.

What counts as a vulnerable family or person?

OpenRefuge considers a vulnerable family to be one with a sick or handicapped family member, a wife who is pregnant and/or with small children, a child suffering from major injury, or a living situation that is considered extremely dangerous (physically or mentally). A vulnerable person is one who is sick, handicap, suffering from injury, extreme PTSD, or living in a threatening/physically or emotionally dangerous situation.

OpenRefuge is constantly making friends with refugees, volunteers, and organizations. It is through these relationships that we encounter vulnerable families and persons. Decisions are made on a case by case basis, and apartments are made available once we have obtained the proper funding and lease.

Experimental Period

As with every new project, there is an experimental period in order to discover the things we have yet to encounter. We have already learned from our mistakes. The biggest lesson we have learned thus far is to check with the electric company before signing a lease! The first apartment we leased had an outstanding electric bill of 2,000 euros, and we could not turn the electricity on until that bill was paid. Fortunately, we were able to get out of the lease and find a new apartment.

We are currently leasing two apartments for a total of 9 refugees. There is a family of 5 with three children under 5, a young couple with the wife on bed rest (she’s due in Sept!), and a young man who is battling severe PTSD. Our goal is to have 12 apartments by June of 2018.

Help Us Get There!

How are we going to get there? We will get there with the help of beautiful and amazing people like yourself! Each apartment costs 200–300 euros per month, which averages out to about $250–375 per month. Here is a list of ideas and ways for you to help us make this happen:

• Follow this link and join our monthly giving team!
• Invite your friends, team, club, group, school, or church to sponsor an apartment and/or host a fundraiser. Contact info@openrefuge.org for assistance.
• Join us on a future trip!
• Share this link to your social media and help us get the word out!
• And remember to follow us at Facebook.com/openrefuge