Pictured: Viktoriaa in one of our longer-term housing units in Berlin.
When the devasting news broke that Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, ORAM immediately responded to address the immediate needs of LGBTIQ Ukrainians who were forced to flee their homes. After providing shorter-term housing and other emergency support for the queer Ukrainian community, ORAM began providing longer-term housing in June as the conflict continued.
Through ORAM’s longer-term housing program, we have provided displaced LGBTIQ Ukrainians with housing for six months, free of charge. The longer-term housing program has allowed people to register with the government and get situated in their new lives in Berlin, access social services, and plan the next steps in their immediate future.
One of the former residents of an apartment provided by ORAM believes the safe housing allowed her to access many opportunities in Berlin. Viktoriaa, a queer Ukrainian, met ORAM in June and initially received case management support from the ORAM team before moving into the apartment.
“My experience in ORAM's apartment was really positive. I had everything I needed and even more,” Viktoriaa shared with us, “very well equipment and cozy flat, open-minded roommate and safe space.” When she moved to Berlin, she didn’t expect to find a longer-term housing program like ORAM’s.
“Long-term housing from ORAM provided me with a wide range of opportunities...I had the chance to sort [through a] huge amount of bureaucratic processes,” she recalled.
Toward the end of her six-month lease with ORAM, after a challenging search, Viktoriaa was successful in finding her own apartment. “It was daily hunting from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm... I filled out over 250 requests, had about 30 views, and after a month of mad searching, I found my own "treasure" in Wedding (a neighborhood in Berlin),” she told ORAM.
Viktoriaa’s “treasure” apartment is now keeping her busy in Berlin. “My new apartment is completely empty and in need of renovation, but I love painting and doing restoration. This gives me a lot of options to create something very personalized,” she shared.
She shared a lot of thanks to the ORAM team for all the ways they supported her when she first arrived in Germany. “Apart from housing, I received excellent support from the ORAM’s Ukraine Program Manager, Camille, in other matters,” she said, reflecting on her experience during her six months living in the apartment provided by ORAM.
The ORAM team is thrilled that Viktoriaa was able to find her “treasure” apartment and that the longer-term housing program and support positively benefited her. We are happy to report that nearly all of the first six-month residents of ORAM apartments were able to secure housing on their own, thanks to the foundation they built while living in an ORAM-sponsored apartment
On what’s next for Viktoriaa, she said, “my next high-priority steps are to find a job here, continue learning German, and integrate into society.” Viktoriaa was recently accepted into the TENT mentorship program. The TENT mentorship program, working from a guidebook authored by ORAM, provides LGBTIQ refugees one-on-one support with queer professionals and allies from major companies. The TENT mentorship program can help improve professional skills, build confidence, and expand participants' professional networks.