Solidarity is growing in Spain towards the thousands of Ukrainian refugees who have arrived fleeing the Russian invasion of their country.
As of Thursday 24 March, Spanish families who are willing to welcome Ukrainian refugees in their homes can notify the authorities by calling 900 67 09 09.
This hotline has been activated by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration to channel support from Spanish private citizens to refugees from Ukraine.
The initiative is the result of an agreement signed on Wednesday by the Spanish government and La Caixa Foundation. It will start as a pilot project in four provinces: Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Murcia, which are among those that have registered the highest number of arrivals of people displaced by the war.
According to RTVE, during the presentation of the project, Minister José Luis Escrivá highlighted the responsibilities and obligations involved in hosting refugees.
Assistance and guidance
"We have to make sure that the people who are going to be welcomed have support and guidance, as well as legal and psychological assistance, and access to economic aid for accommodation and maintenance," the minister said.
The telephone service will be held from 09:00 to 22:30 from Monday to Sunday.
In the first place, the suitability of the host family will be assessed in each case and the connection with the different official territorial reception centers will be facilitated. The number of people that each home can accommodate, the characteristics of the home and the period of time in which they can commit to maintaining reception are some of the factors that will be assessed.
The validated applications will be communicated to the Ministry.
