Hope Shelter
We provide a safe and warm shelter for Ukrainians fleeing the war. At this shelter, we provide each guest with warm meals, a clean bed, clothing, medicine, and toys for the kids. We do our best to make this shelter a home with the limited funding we have. The kitchen has a large island counter where everyone can cook together. The ability to cook brings many refugees a sense of pride and the feeling of being home with their family during a period of massive uncertainty. There is a clean play area with games and toys for the children. We have computers to allow children to continue their online education. The sleeping areas are separated for privacy. We also set up events for the refugees, such as making candles for the trenches that we send to Ukraine with other aid. This allows them to support their country and alleviates the guilt of abandoning their home. War is hard enough on a person without the thought of not having money or a safe place to live. We cannot take away their pain, but we try our best to form a supportive community and help them through this unimaginable time.
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The Hope Shelter is a short-term refuge and can currently accommodate ​up to 102 people. We are about 10km from the Medyka, the busiest Polish-Ukraine, border located at Lwowska 40 in Przemysl. Many other shelters in Poland have been systematically closing or lowering capacity during a time where weather conditions are worsening and the war is progressing. The only option for those who don’t have a shelter to stay at is the local train station. When some shelters close, other shelters and the train station reach capacity quickly and many families are left on the streets. The Hope Shelter was created because our volunteers saw large numbers of refugees on the streets in October. It was getting colder and we did not want anyone to freeze and get seriously ill or die on the streets waiting for help after surviving a war. Shelter is needed now more than ever and founding is crucial for the wellbeing of many Ukrainians without a home because of this war. We are in desperate need of funding for the rent of this facility and to purchase coal for heating.
We typically average between 50 and 85 people per day in our shelter. Sometimes we are over our maximum capacity of 102 and families need to share a bed or we cannot accept anyone else. Our maximum was 120 refugees in one day and we had to turn away others. We have the space but need the funding to add another 22 beds so that we can increase our capacity to 124 people. The rent, coal and electricity cost around €7,000 euro per month. Even when we look at our lowest average of 50 people everyday for the month, that is only €140 euro per person per month, or about €5 euro per person per day. A €5 euro donation can house, feed, and clothe a person for a full day and a donation of €140 euros can take care of a human being fleeing war for an entire month. We receive donations of food, clothing, and other supplies so our main needs are the rent, coal, and electricity costs to operate the shelter. The reason your donation goes such a long way with the Hope Foundation is because no one in our organization gets a salary or spends any money on advertisements. Every dollar donated goes straight to helping a person in serious need. With the current lack of funding, volunteers have been working and covering the shelter’s expenses. This cannot go on for much longer, and we need more help to keep this shelter open. We also have a program where we assist with documentation. We cover fees and provide transportation and assistance for those who have lost or forgotten their passports and other essential documents in the rush for safety from this war. We are in desperate need of funding for the rent, to purchase coal for heating, and general maintenance/upgrades to the facility as well as help with our kitchen, documentation programs, and aid convoys into Ukraine. Any donation you could provide will go a long way.
