I’m proud of this team for their dedication to this important project! I’m cheering you on from Tuscany. PARAKALOOOOO

Great people, great cause! Will be cheering you all along from Wanaka, New Zealand. 

We provide housing and support to deprioritised asylum seekers and refugees.

**History**
From the first idea of Mazí in a kitchen in central Athens, residents have been at the heart of what we do. 

An asylum system is hostile by design. In this context, however, it was also inefficient, arbitrary and violent. As the state withdrew access to basic services (healthcare, legal, bureaucratic) in 2019, tens of thousands of people became trapped in dangerous and unsanitary overflowing camps on the Greek islands or across the mainland; stuck in cold and dirty and overcrowded basements of community centres or religious centres; or stuck in travellers’ houses: notoriously unclean, insecure spaces. Working frontline at a community centre and information point, we met people every day with an urgent need of housing for an indefinite period of time. People were stuck in the asylum system; stuck without legal status; stuck without access to healthcare; stuck without the status or tools to rent an apartment, find fulfilling work, and build their own pathways out of their situation in Greece.

We decided to use safe, stable housing as the prime lever for residents to unpick these issues, and to move on. Every day we saw young men come into the centre, up to the information point and ask for support. Typically, state and humanitarian actors distribute aid based on the vulnerability of different groups of displaced people. Someone can be “vulnerable” if they fit within a defined social group (old, young, pregnant, ill). Solo men are always bottom of this list. It is remarkable how quickly you internalise the knowledge that there are no services for a young man as he asks you for help; how quickly you internalise a belief that he will be fine: he is young, he is a man, he is strong. The unspoken thought behind this is: he will be ok sleeping on the street.

**Goals**
We are a small charity, and that enables us to provide genuinely impactful support to each resident we work with. We measure our impact in its depth as well as breadth, and aim to achieve five key goals, increasing each resident’s:

- Stability and access to safe spaces
- Feeling of ownership of living space and the city
- Ability to access services
- Ability to support himself financially
- Feeling of strong mental health

With these five keys residents leave Mazi equipped to support their own independent housing.

**Mission**
Mazí Housing exists to end homelessness and social exclusion for displaced people in Athens. In a world where displacement is a reality and resources are limited, we provide viable housing options and holistic support to those who face barriers to social inclusion. We demonstrate the potential for humane, cost-effective and inclusive housing responses to migration that facilitate positive interactions between all communities, and use our voice to advocate for better policy.

**Activities**
Mazí’s model is unique. We have three years of experience in using housing, safe community spaces and livelihoods support as a lever into inclusion in European societies. We have a strong track record of enabling residents to move on independently from our services: sixty-eight residents have arrived at Mazí without a job since 2020; fifty have left with the tools needed to work and forty-six have left in sustainable employment. Behind these figures are 113 asylum service visits; 38 positive asylum decisions or renewals; 65 legal information sessions; 303 doctor appointments; 24 referrals for psychological support; 3429 hours of language study. There are many indicators of inclusion, self-reliance and independence beyond these: including confidence speaking at house meetings, sense of ownership of living space, ability and willingness to navigate the neighbourhood and the city alone.

**Next Steps**
In three years, we have learnt a lot. We are constantly evolving our programme to reflect the changing context and the needs of our residents. We cannot anticipate the external triggers of these adaptations, but this flexibility ensures that we are making the most of our skills and resources to support residents to be self-reliant. The changes we have seen since the Athenian kitchen in 2018 have not, however, been solely driven by the context in which we work. We have pushed ourselves to become more effective, sustainable and replicable. Looking at the next two years, we have a clear vision of what Mazí looks like:

1. **STRENGTHEN**
• In 2023, to recruit a board with broader experience in different areas relevant to our work, e.g. advocacy, finance, funding, housing, lived experience
• To maintain a more stable core team: this means, in 2024, four members of staff for our current operations (average 40 residents over a year)
• Broader and deeper partnerships with other organisations to amplify impact we have

2. **CODIFY**
• We measure impact meticulously
• We communicate successes and learnings clearly, both internally and externally
• We maintain and uphold clear internal systems
• We document our approach clearly and charmingly, ensuring it is easy for others to see and understand how we work, and the impact this has

3. **GROW**
The work that we do is as needed as it has ever been.
• We will grow to support more people: we will open more apartments, sustainably (one housing manager per three houses)
• We will open up community space to non-residents to meet the shortfall in services as organisations close across Greece

4. **ADVOCATE**
• We will build on our track record to speak about housing; to articulate the weakness of camp-based solutions; and to advocate for better access to rights
• We will collaborate with existing partners, and search for unexpected partnerships, to amplify our voice and its impact
• We are a voice that people listen to about housing and integration in Europe

 Mazí Housing Project

IRC responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises & helps people to survive, recover & gain control of their future.

The International Rescue Committee responds to the world’s worst humanitarian crises and helps people whose lives and livelihoods are shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and gain control of their future. In more than 40 countries and in 26 U.S. cities, our dedicated teams provide clean water, shelter, health care, education and empowerment support to refugees and displaced people.

International Rescue Committee

Protecting the most vulnerable on the front line of humanitarian emergencies

INTERSOS is a humanitarian organization on the front line of emergencies to help people affected by war, violence, natural disasters, and extreme exclusion.  
 
We guarantee access to medical care, clean water, and proper sanitation; we respond to basic needs, such as food and shelter; we identify and treat cases of malnutrition; we protect and assist victims of violence; we support children and, in particular, unaccompanied and separated children, building educational spaces and places for socialization in war zones. 

Your support of INTERSOS goes directly to the front line, where it's needed most. Thank you! 
 
"Our operators are committed to providing humanitarian aid to the victims of war and natural disasters daily. They are always ready to protect the most vulnerable and guarantee humanitarian access to the most remote zones of crisis areas, reaching an increasing number of people in need. This is the strength of INTERSOS, an organization of women and men who choose to be on the side of humanity. On the front line, always".

Kostas Moschochoritis, INTERSOS Director General 

INTERSOS Humanitarian Organization ETS

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Mazí Housing Project

INTERSOS Humanitarian Organization ETS

Mazí Housing Project

Mazí Housing Project

International Rescue Committee

Mazí Housing Project

Afghanistan