Collective Aid currently works in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and France facilitating showers, clothes & washing services, providing food, safe water, and essential material aid. These services have provided thousands of people seeking safety in Europe with countless amounts of vital material aid and hygiene solutions.
Supporting Displaced People Sleeping Rough
-Calais, France
In September 2019, we took over the largest material aid operation in Northern France. With support from Choose Love - then known as Help Refugees - and L’Auberge des Migrants, we took what we’ve learned in the Balkans and adapted our knowledge to meet the specific needs of the populations in the region.
With around 1,500 displaced people sleeping rough in horrific living conditions, that are only made worse by daily police evictions, we joined other grassroots organisations currently on the ground to distribute life-saving aid across sites in Dunkirk and Calais.
We distribute thousands of non-food items every month. Clothing, tents, sleeping bags, and shoes, all to people who urgently need them. None of this would be possible without your support.
Providing a Comprehensive Mobile Intervention
-Subotica, Serbia
Since November 2019, Collective Aid has been present in Subotica supporting the people on the move sleeping rough in the region around the Hungarian, Croatian and Romanian border. Due to the dangerously cold winters, it is essential that we are there to distribute much needed items.
We support the population in and around Subotica with clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, hygiene items, showers, laundry, food, and drinking water. We facilitate mobile showers near locations where people are sleeping rough.
We are part of the Border Violence Monitoring Network which consists of many organizations working mainly in the Balkans and Greece who monitor human rights violations at the external borders of the European Union. Our volunteers are identifying people with injuries or mentioning violence and offer them to report those for advocacy purposes.
It is essential that we – as one of the few organisations active in this region - step in to meet the urgent needs of the population and draw attention to violations and mistreatment.
Distributing Essential Aid
-Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Since July 2018, Collective Aid has been supporting people on the move stuck in Bosnia and Herzegovina through multiple outlets and projects.
We are currently distributing essential aid like underwear, socks, hygiene packs, clothing, sleeping bags and shoes to people who are sleeping rough around Sarajevo. We collaborate closely with other organizations on the ground on identification and referral of potential cases for basic legal aid and medical interventions. In July 2021 we took over a Glasses Project from another organization. Collective Aid now works together in partnership with a local optician to help people on the move get fitting glasses for themselves
We are part of the Border Violence Monitoring Network which consists of many organizations working mainly in the Balkans and Greece who monitor human rights violations at the external borders of the European Union. Our volunteers are identifying people with injuries or mentioning violence and offer them to report those for advocacy purposes.
WASH Centre
- Belgrade, Serbia
Since the end of 2020, we are operating a WASH Centre in the heart of Belgrade. We are providing hot showers and a free laundry service to people on the move in Belgrade six days a week.
At our WASH Centre, people have the opportunity to get their clothing washed, exchange their socks and use our facilities to get a hot shower. People on the move have no easy access to washing facilities and therefore we decided to fill this gap by opening a WASH Centre.
Primary needs need to be covered before a person can psychologically work on other more complex processes. Collective Aid covers a basic need: Having access to a shower and getting their clothing professionally washed can make a person feel more comfortable, feel more dignified and feel better, despite the harsh conditions they face every day.
Our Wash Centre is a place where people can use our services but also ask for information, get some drinking water or just chat to a friendly face in Belgrade. Our volunteers are doing outreach in the morning to inform people about our centre due to the ever-changing population in Belgrade. By connecting with other organizations, we make sure that people can get the information and service they need and refer people to the responsible organizations.
We are part of the Border Violence Monitoring Network which consists of many organizations working mainly in the Balkans and Greece who monitor human rights violations at the external borders of the European Union. Our volunteers are identifying people with injuries or mentioning violence and offer them to report those for advocacy purposes.