Very many citizens are getting active and helping refugees from Ukraine. This commitment is very impressive and deserves great recognition. At the same time, in the current phase, it is of great importance to carry out the admission of people as orderly as possible. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you only bring protection seekers to Germany if you have clarified the issue of accommodation in advance. The following should be noted:

• The responsibility for accommodating the protection seekers initially lies with the organizations and initiatives that bring the protection seekers to Germany.
• If you do not have your own (sufficient) accommodation facilities, please contact your municipality. Many municipalities provide information and contact details on their homepages.
• If the municipality cannot provide any or sufficient accommodation, the municipality will approach the state with a request for support and admission. IMPORTANT: It is not possible to directly accept protection seekers in state facilities at the request of individual organizations or initiatives; the municipality must make this request.

• Please first contact your municipality concerning accomodation for your relatives or friends. Many municipalities provide information and contact details of people in charge on their homepages.
• People from Ukraine seeking protection and do not have the possibility to stay in a self-organized accommodation - for example in the apartment of relatives and friends - or in an accommodation provided by the municipality, should register as seeking protection at the initial reception center Landeserstaufnahmeeinrichtung) in Bochum. They will then be accommodated in a state reception center (collective accommodation).

• In general, the willingness of the population to help contributes significantly to the fleeing people arriving well in our country and finding some peace after days of traumatizing flight - especially children and teenagers who are in particular need of protection. This deserves great recognition.
• Concerning children and teenagers, it is the local youth welfare offices (Jugendämter) which are responsible - especially when it comes to children not accompanied by their mothers/guardians, as well as children from evacuated children's homes. It is very important that the youth welfare offices contribute in a first step to ensuring that these children and young people are accommodated in accordance with their special need for protection and that their individual needs are determined.
• Please therefore contact your local youth welfare office directly. With them you can determine whether and how your help can be taken into account.

• Protection seekers who are accommodated in state facilities (Landeserstaufnahmeeinrichtungen) are registered as protection seekers by the facility.
• Protection seekers who have already been accommodated in a municipality must also be registered if state benefits (e.g. accommodation in a municipal shelter) are claimed. Please contact your municipality or the local foreigners authority in this case.

In all 54 districts in North Rhine-Westphalia you can find so-called municipal integration centers (Kommunale Integrationszentren). We advise you to get in contact with the people there if you want to help. The municipal integration centers are e.g. looking for language experts for their pool of language mediators and advise committed citizens on how they can become active. You can find the contact details here.

The North Rhine-Westphalia Victim Protection Portal: https://www.opferschutzportal.nrw/en