Poland to Close Shelters for Most Ukrainian Refugees
Poland will gradually close shelters for most refugees from Ukraine.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Polskie Radio.
The Polish government has approved a bill to this effect.
According to the bill, from 1 November, so-called collective accommodation centres for refugees from Ukraine in Poland will only accept members of protected groups: pensioners, pregnant women and people with disabilities.
Currently, everyone is entitled to free accommodation in such a centre for the first four months after arriving in Poland.
‘After these 120 days, which are counted from the first day of a Ukrainian citizen's entry into Poland, a period of financial participation begins,’ said Joanna Bachanek, spokeswoman for the Mazovian Voivode.
Currently, more than half of the residents of collective accommodation centres in Poland live there longer than the free period and pay extra for accommodation and food.
Bachanek noted that 3,000 people currently live in collective accommodation centres in the Mazovia Province. There are still over 1,000 places available.
Polish government spokesman Adam Szlapka explained that the forms of assistance to Ukrainian refugees are changing according to needs.
‘The Ministry of the Interior and Administration believes that now is the time when this type of support can be discontinued,’ he said.
For 6,000 refugees from outside the protected groups, a programme called ‘Together Towards Independence’ is planned, funded by the EU. It provides subsidies for Ukrainians to rent flats and covers the cost of Polish language courses.
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