The EU FRA approached Ghent to get to know what they did, or are doing, to facilitate access to housing, education, healthcare, employment and social services for people who fled Ukraine.
Many cities throughout the European Union hosted people fleeing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. To gauge how cities addressed Europe largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) approached selected cities in the EU.
Cities are ideally placed to support and integrate people from Ukraine. This is particularly due to the cities’ social infrastructure and job opportunities. To better understand what local authorities are doing, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) approached selected cities in the EU, including Ghent.
Ghent organised and coordinated access to private accommodation in response to the arrival of displaced people fleeing Ukraine. This entailed screening host families, match-making displaced people and providing information on how to get a resident permit, financial aid, how to access jobs or schools, etc. The municipality carries out “home visits” to take stock of how the cohabitation is going, and to answer any questions the guests and the hosts might have.
By the summer of 2022, around 205 families provided accommodation to 500 displaced people from Ukraine. Initial feedback showed that this approach helped speed up their integration, while ensuring that host families are well informed of the potential challenges they could face before accepting them into their homes.
In 2022, the city started preparatory works on an emergency village for Ukrainian refugees in Oostakker. The Flemish government's Facility Services Agency provides 200 housing units for 600 refugees from Ukraine. The construction will start in January 2023. The first residents are expected to move there in April 2023.
Please read more about the FRA consultation with other cities including Barcelona, Budapest, Cologne, Gdansk, Lund, Nuremberg, Salzburg, Utrecht and Vienna.