by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

“I am old enough to have perhaps already reconciled with some truths and facts of life. But the reality for me is different. My inner battle became unbearable, and I decided that I could no longer be a stranger to my people. A friend of mine suggested that I should visit the Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow in Athens. I thought it was only for people from abroad. But it is for everyone, and the truth is I felt that from the first moment I met my later psychologist.”

At 45, Giannis introduces himself as “quite old”, “gay”, “a good son”, and “a distressed worker”. But we are never “old or young enough”, or anything else to ask for help from the right people.

And Giannis got the appropriate support which brought immediate results.

“I came out to my brother. I told him I’m gay. And when I went back home, I felt lighter. It was a strange feeling because I didn’t know how to manage it, it was as if I felt bad about feeling good, I don’t know how to explain it. Of course, this was quickly replaced by the feeling of standing on my own feet more firmly.”

I grew up in Athens. A nice child of a good family; nothing was missing from our home. We were not rich, but we were rich because we never lack love. I had a very loving relationship with both my father and mother. None of them are here anymore.

Also, I always had a good relationship with my half-siblings, my brother and sister, since our mother always took care of that. And generally, my mother always took care of everything.

As I grew up, I was never denied anything. I was never deprived either, but it took me a long time to realize that many things in my nurture, painless, invisible, literally and metaphorically, defined me in terms of my beliefs, opinions, and attitude. It was time for me to figure it all out one by one as the years went by, after realizing and admitting that I am gay.

I’m a nice person; my friends call me ‘the life and soul of the party’. But sometimes they tell me that so much energy and joy might hide something opposite; melancholy. Eventually, I think they are right, and I now know that a big part of it is directly related to my need for acceptance. Because even though some of my people know exactly who I am, I have spent most of the years hiding it from everyone else, even (or even especially!) from my family environment.

I thought it wasn’t necessary. I resigned myself to the attitude of my partners who were hiding too much. And sometimes I got stuck with a shame that I didn’t have on my own, but rather deep inside I accepted it as normal.

I never got to tell my mother I was gay. Instead, I managed to burden myself with guilt that by not living the way she would have wanted, I might have contributed to her illness and ultimately her death.

It was all weighing on me. And above all, one more guilt and shame weighed more heavily – the one that told me that you now live more freely, after your mother’s death. I couldn’t accept it. As if I were denying my adoration for her.

Now things are getting clearer.

My life has moved on. I live in the same house as my partner, I speak more comfortably about who I am, and I am also escorted to all social events. And I like it.

I see my psychologist often and sometimes I am happy as a child who goes to tell her about his accomplishments. Today I spoke to my brother! I get bravo, I get acceptance”, concludes Giannis with a smile.

He also faces his financial hardship in a different way. He feels more optimistic, more powerful about how to deal with what is coming: “I’ve been working non-stop since I was 19. I’ll always find jobs, I know, because I never expected things to come without effort.

And finally, I find that when I started being honest to and for myself, expressing my needs and desires with certainty, I asked, and I got. I asked for acceptance and love, and I got it. No one rejected me because I’m gay.

Maybe I rejected myself for so long – and that was visible. Now I am visible, it is me as this multidimensional person that I am, because nobody is just gay, just one or the other (he laughs). We are 150,000 different things that make people love us.

“You know,” he says, “I would like you to write this… that maybe we need to widen our embrace to include everyone and especially all those who feel different and for some reason feel bad about it.”

* Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**From 1/7/2021 till 30/6/2023, Kahane Foundation supports the Psychosocial service of the Athens Solidarity Center.

***The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

Dimitris has every reason to be proud of himself. Not only today, April 8th, that along with the rest Roma people, he celebrates their international day, but because with his everyday actions for a long time, Dimitris overcomes stereotypes, either the ones derived from his origin or the ones caused by choices and experiences that left him weak, illegal, and trapped for a significant period of his adult life.

By the time he reached 29, Dimitris had lived many lives, as he says he feels.

“I was born and raised in Pyrgos. My mom is Greek, and my dad was Roma. He died in prison, regretful. I have two brothers and four sisters, all married. I don’t remember ever feeling comfortable anywhere, to say this is my place, my people, to feel safe. I remember going to school for a very short time. At first, I attended school and after a while, they created a class only with Roma children, and it was basically as if they forgot about us. I remember touching a kid from another class and I saw him panicking; then he said that he must wash his shirt now. Back then I couldn´t understand why.”

While growing up, Dimitris began to understand. The school forgot about him and so did he, until he dropped out and never learned to read and write. He then followed a path like the one of his father’s. Unlawfulness and drugs were in Dimitri’s life by the age of 14. He became the child doing illegal business for adults and finally he was led to prison. Prison sounds so terrible when said by such a smiley young man, but Dimitris has a different opinion.

“Prison was my chance to escape. I had been in the prisons of Nafplio, Larissa, and Patras and finally I arrived at Eleonas in Athens. During my imprisoned years, I entered the drug rehabilitation program, and I got well. Through this ‘journey’, I met my people. The program’s social workers who supported me very much, my fellow inmates with whom we managed to heal together. Thus, I decided to never go back – neither to my parental home, nor to see my mother, nor to drugs, nor to anything I had lived before. I know that if I go to see my mother it’s going to be a setback, I’m going to get in trouble. I just talk to her on the phone. After all, we don’t have much to say, mom can’t understand that I’m changing my life, she only understands that she misses me, but that’s not enough anymore.

In the program, I learned to speak. At first, I didn’t say anything to Eleonas, but finally, I spoke to a group! It was awesome for me, it did me so good and the more I talked the more I couldn’t stop. My therapists helped me a lot.

I insisted and I still do because I will succeed, and I will make my life better. I also go to classes organized by an NGO, and I learn to read and write. I’m already writing my name!

The life I have now is already better.”

While he was in the rehabilitation program, Dimitris was informed about the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) of SolidarityNow and the operation of the Social and Employability Services. The next goal was to find a job. After a few meetings with the employment consultant, Dimitris got his first job. For the employment consultant, Dimitris was already a winner, because he was consistent, reliable and optimistic despite his constant struggle not to be afraid and to believe in himself.

“I thought the Centre was only for migrants, but I was wrong and now I am happy to come. They help me a lot. The first job I found was good. Of course, sometimes I heard comments about my origin, but I heard good things as well. I often feel that while I am trying to escape from the old life, others treat me in a way, a reserve, as if they anticipate my fate. I sometimes feel more condemned than when I was in prison.

The first job finished and the advisor from the Center supported me, so I got a second one. I had a schedule. Work, classes- twice a week-, taking care of the hostel I lived in with my two roommates.”

Dimitris completed the rehabilitation program and served his sentence. The extension he had received for staying at the hostel also passed and things did not turn out smoothly. He suddenly lost his job because as he finally realized, his employer could not keep a Roma in his job.

“I generally feel that making my life better is a cruel and lonely road. And I know that other Roma people feel the same – it’s like everyone is certain that we will fail and sometimes I wonder why I should try. But I’m not giving up.”

He was unemployed and homeless.

He immediately went back to the Athens Solidarity Center. He was registered in the Social service as a homeless person and after a series of medical tests which he carried out without wasting a minute, a hostel was found to accommodate him.

Dimitris is trying very hard. You see it in his eyes, you hear it in his voice. He does whatever it takes to move forward.

“I’m in the hostel now. And at the Center, everyone tried to help me. We made my resume and a few days ago I got picked up from a job and I already started. I hope everything goes well. I will collect money little by little to get a home and I will be good at my job. I’m going to keep learning to write and read because there’s no other way, I see everyone texting with their phones, and I want it too. Now I only speak with verbal messages.

And after I learn to read and write, maybe I will find a girl to love and have a family.

I am a Roma, yes, but I’m also a man. My friends in the program were all Greek. We looked alike, we had been through a lot, regardless of where we came from. That’s all I want to say. I make mistakes, but I also have dreams like everyone else. I hope I never forget that and never look at any of my fellow humans with that look; that look that makes me want to disappear when I feel it on me”.

* Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

The 48-year-old S.K. visited the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) of SolidarityNow one year ago requesting psychosocial support. S. was in a bad psychological condition, angry and frustrated, as he could not have access to the services he needed so as to deal with his serious health problems. A Greek man who faced a bureaucracy that made it impossible for him to claim his rights.

With the coordinated efforts by the Center’s Social Service, S. was able to overcome bureaucratic obstacles and receive the disability allowance he is entitled, which created a new reality for him that empowered him both financially and psychologically. 

Thus, a trust relationship was established between S. and the Center’s professionals, and today he continues to receive social, and psychological support, while he also consults the Legal and Accounting Services on various issues.

Mr. S.’s remarkable progress in a very short period fills us with optimism and is an excellent example of how effective the collaboration among the different services that work complementary within the Center is.

* Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**From 1/7/2021 till 30/6/2023, Kahane Foundation supports the Psychosocial service of the Athens Solidarity Center.

***The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

The 38-year-old Tasos was born, grew up, and lives in Athens. Some time ago, he visited the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) of SolidarityNow requesting support from the employability service. Tasos mainly needed help in the better preparation of his resume, to become more competitive in the labor market.

Indeed, the service’s employment officer found that although his resume was well structured, it was nonetheless incomplete. Like most people seeking similar support, Tasos’ resume referred to his education and work experience but had no reference to his social skills. The employment officer explained to him the importance of these skills as they enhance the existing work experience and are a hiring criterion for employers.

When Tasos was asked about his hobbies and activities, he hesitantly replied that he likes board games and online role-playing games, where every player creates a character and interacts in a fictional world.

Referring to Tasos’ answer, the officer emphasized that mentioning hobbies and interests in an interview can play an important role, as they highlight aspects of the person’s personality and help recruiters perceive their abilities more quickly. For example, skills such as collaboration, teamwork, and initiative were derived from Tasos’ hobbies and interests and are traits that may prove particularly useful to him in pursuing jobs in the private sector.

A few months later, Tasos achieved his goal! He interviewed and was hired as a sales trainer at a company of English interests. And not only that! He found another fan of his hobby! His employer happened to love role-playing games, so the conversation was devoted to sharing their experiences. Naturally, a more favorable climate was created between them and played an important role in the recruitment of Tasos.

After the first days in his new job, Tasos contacted the ASC Employability Service and warmly thanked the consultant for his valuable advice!

* Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

The 65-year-old Ms. E.K. is an economic migrant from Moldova that has been living in Greece for many years. As she suffers from dementia at an early stage, she faces psychiatric problems and gets medication.

She addressed the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow requesting support initially from the accounting service and then legal assistance to resolve a labor issue.

Mrs. E.K. is a typical case of a modern form of slavery. She worked for many years in a house, enclosed, without insurance, holiday allowances -Christmas, Easter, and summer-, for 24 hours a day, because even at night she had to be on guard and look after the old lady she was taking care of. When she found the courage to claim her legal rights from her employer, he fired her, “throwing” her on the street without any compensation.

Nevertheless, Mrs. E.K. found the strength to visit the local competent Labor Inspection Body, where she was confronted with injustice and indifference. While submitting her request, the employee said that she should consult an attorney to correctly calculate the amounts of accrued wages along with related allowances and leaves, and then submit her complaint.

The case of Mrs. E.K. was examined by the legal department of the Centre and was offered the option of an out-of-court settlement, after accurately calculating her accrued earnings, including her night work, weekend work, Christmas, Easter, and summer allowances. Now, Mrs. E.K. can submit her complaint to the competent Labor Inspection Body to resolve her case.

 * Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

Mrs. A.R. is a young Greek woman, a part-time worker, who lives with her partner in a rented residence in Athens. A sudden health problem of her partner – loss of vision – led them to a dire financial situation. The debts along with the constant pressures from their creditors, caused mental health problems for the couple. Under these circumstances, they turned from one day to another, from decent tenants to victims of their landlady, who did not hesitate to send them threatening messages, insult and slander them, and even enter their home, completely illegally. In fact, she tried to humiliate them by shouting in a shared area of ​​the apartment building. The reason why she did all these illegal acts was a slight delay of a few days in the payment of the monthly rent.

Therefore, A.R. visited the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) of SolidarityNow to receive legal support and put an end to the long-term, highly offensive behavior of the landlady.

Initially, the couple was given legal advice and detailed explanations about their legal rights as tenants. Then, the mediation with the landlady and her attorney stopped her illegal behavior. After many efforts and many months of providing legal services, the beneficiary’s case was finally resolved with the smooth and extrajudicial solution of the lease.

 * Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

S.M., is a transgender woman, originally from Pakistan. She is 26 years old and lives in Greece since December 2019. She was forced to leave her country because her life was at risk, both by her family but also by the social environment.

Before Christmas 2020, S.M. visited the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC), following a referral, initially seeking support to get her legal documents. For this reason, she started meeting with the ASC professionals in Legal and Social Services, being helped by an interpreter.

Her asylum application as a vulnerable person was accepted in priority since she had also been a victim of violence during her first stay in Greece. Subsequently, the legal service assisted her during the stage of submitting her application for international protection; during the preparation stage for her interview as well as during the interview itself which took place in the examination of her application in the first instance, where the service’s lawyers represented her.

Also, the social service tried to find safe housing for the beneficiary by submitting a request to the Ministry of Migration & Asylum so that S.M. could be housed in a protected environment. The result was positive!

Finally, she got asylum status by the Asylum Service. First, her application was examined in terms of the “Safe Third Country” concept, as she had passed through Turkey, but it was considered that the link within the meaning of the provisions of Law 4939/2022 cannot be considered sufficient and therefore her application was deemed admissible. Subsequently, the service examined the merits of her case, and it was decided that, even though her country of origin, Pakistan, is included in the national list of safe countries, the applicant nonetheless has a well-founded fear of persecution in her country, because she belongs to a certain social group.

S.M.’s case is one of the many cases of LGBTQI+ people that ASC deals with every day and an excellent example of the efficient collaboration among the different services which function complementary within the Centre.

S.M. thanked the whole team: “I feel that I love you, you helped me like no one else, I am very happy”.

 * Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Social Service of the Athens Solidarity Center by SolidarityNow

The Greek society, without having fully recovered from the ten-year economic crisis found itself once again confronted with the consequences of a crisis i.e., the one caused by Covid-19 pandemic as well as the broader international adverse conditions. As a result, a large share of the population continues to experience conditions of work and financial uncertainty, which fatally lead to situations of poverty and social exclusion. The Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) by SolidarityNow with the services it offers, is an enduring hub of solidarity and support for individuals and families who live below the poverty line and find it difficult to cover even their most basic, daily needs.

Such a case is the one of the 58-year-old E.X., who has been a beneficiary of the Athens Solidarity Center for more than 4 years. The first time she visited the ASC, Ms. E. was overwhelmed physically and mainly psychologically, due to the very serious financial problems she was facing. Being long-term unemployed, without any income, family or other supportive environment, the privately owned residence in which she lived was her only asset and at the same time her only protection against exposure to conditions of absolute poverty or even homelessness.

From the very beginning, the ASC experts along with Ms. E., tried to implement an integrated plan to lessen the great difficulties she was facing, so that she would once again be in a position to claim her active social reintegration.

For her empowerment, she continues to this day to have sessions with a psychologist from the ASC Psychological support Service, as her very poor living conditions burdened even more her already vulnerable psychological state. This kind of support helped her to trust herself and abilities again and actively seek work, with the constant assistance by the ASC Employability Service.

At the same time, with coordinated actions of the Social and Accounting services, Ms. E. managed, due to the health problems she is facing, to become the beneficiary of a monthly allowance (Guaranteed Minimum Income). Finally, during all this time, lots of actions have been carried out both by the ASC volunteers as well as through collaboration with other organizations, which aimed to improve the living conditions of Ms. E., encourage her, and meet her basic needs.

Ms. E.’s case is one among many that the Athens Solidarity Center’s services have called upon to manage in latest years. A great number of our fellow human beings, regardless of nationality, are already living in or directly threatened by conditions of poverty and social exclusion, while the constant appreciation of even basic goods is particularly burdensome for almost all households.

Solidarity, combined with specialized actions, can and must be in the forefront during this particularly turbulent period.

 * Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.

by the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow

The case of the 57-year-old Greek woman who sought support by the Social service of the Athens Solidarity Center (ASC) was one of the most difficult and important ones. E.C. (her initials) informed the service’s specialized personnel that she has been a victim of systematic abuse by her close relatives, almost for all her life.

Ms. E.C. was forced to remain mostly at home, she was not given the chance to study at the University and was not allowed to work, not even when she became an adult. After decades of restrictions and isolation, she found the strength to visit the Athens Solidarity Center, in an attempt to win her life back, walking on a path into the light and facing the economic, social and psychological ‘suffocations’ she had suffered.

In the Athens Solidarity Center, after a thorough assessment of her needs by the Social service, she was referred to the Center’s Psychological service in order to be supported and empowered to build her self-esteem and perform small but crucial steps toward becoming a socially active individual.

In a very short time, E.C made remarkable progress which enabled ASC’s Employability service to intervene and support her effort to look for a job. Finally, with the coordinated efforts of the Social and Accounting services, E.C. managed to arrange financial and property issues and become a beneficiary of KEA (minimum guaranteed income).

Unfortunately, the recent decision by the Greek Ministry of Finance which raised the objective (estimated) property values in the city of Athens, resulted in E.C’s exclusion from the KEA program, along with thousands of other beneficiaries.

On this matter, SolidarityNow through its Advocacy Department published a press release, bringing this “injustice” to the spotlight. After the issue was raised, an independent Member of the Greek Parliament informed the organization that she has submitted a related question to the Minister of Finance seeking a solution so that the most vulnerable members of society can continue to benefit from the KEA, regardless of the recent changes in tax policy.

*Since August 2022, the Athens Solidarity Center is financed by EEA Grants, with ΣΟΛ Crowe and HumanRights360 as the fund operator.

**The Center is also supported by the Municipality of Athens.