What began with a quick action at Berlin’s main train station, #UnterkunftUkraine is developing into a decentralized movement of civil and lived solidarity. Our goal is to build a sustainable network of hosts, which provides shelter to people in need.
To provide people in need with a free, safe and fast shelter opportunity as possible. The idea of #UnterkunftUkraine was born after the first moments of shock after the outbreak of the Ukraine war on 24.2.2022 with the desire to do more than “just” donate and get information. Within a few days, the idea became a small movement and ultimately an initiative with over 160,000 registered people. People willing to open their doors and provide a total of over 300,000 beds for refugees from Ukraine. #UnterkunftUkraine focuses on activating this civil society’s willingness to help and making it visible and available in a bundled form, in order to be able to support people in need in the best possible way in a decentralized and local manner with the help of partners. Developed out of need, a platform is now successively evolving for direct support, lived solidarity and human connections in the event of a crisis.
We make civic solidarity a sustainable part of the solution of acute and flight-induced human hardship/emergency. We tap the potential of private hospitality and make a resource that can be reactivated out of it.
© Maryna Karpinska
One of the two initiators of #Unterkunft Ukraine, Lukas, has been running the solidarity platform elinor since 2018. This platform offers group accounts for environmental organizations, school classes, sports clubs and other initiatives of all kinds. Together with GLS Bank, the elinor team was able, for example, to support Fridays for Future by setting up a solidarity fund.
Falk Zientz is our second initiator and is part of the board of sustainable GLS Bank.
As board spokesman Felix is working on social networking at gut.org gAG since 2020. gut.org is a non-profit group of digital social enterprises that includes Germany’s largest donation platform betterplace.org and now also #UnterkunftUkraine. Felix recognized the potential of Lukas’ and Falk’s idea immediately and brought the coordination of #UnterkunftUkraine to the gut.org network on day three after the war began.
Step 1
You provide us with all the details necessary to find a suitable free temporary accommodation: Who exactly needs accommodation? Where should we search? For what period of time? You need to enter all this into the search form.
Step 2
After your successful registration, our call center will contact you via phone to discuss further details. This can sometimes take hours, but also days or weeks. Please update your application regularly so that we are informed.
Step 3
As soon as we have found a suitable offer for your request, we will send your contact details via mail to the host. They will then contact you to discuss the next steps and arrange a first meeting.
