Plzeň is preparing for a crisis scenario in which a large group of Ukrainian refugees could find themselves on the streets from one day to the next due to a change in their benefits. Starting Saturday, 1 July, the state will pay for accommodation only for people at risk, i.e. mothers with children, young people under 18, the elderly and the disabled. Others will have to fend for themselves and pay commercial rents. The city will erect a tent at the Regional Assistance Centre for Ukraine (KACPU), will strengthen the services of police officers and is ready to provide emergency accommodation for up to 50 people, city spokeswoman Eva Barborková told the Czech News Agency today after a meeting between Mayor Roman Zarzycki (ANO) and the city police and crisis staff.
“Our absolute priority is to ensure safety. We don’t want to leave anyone on the street. That is why we agreed to set up a tent in which it will be possible to temporarily spend the night. People will find there everything for basic hygiene,” said Zarzcycký. Beyond these measures, the city is not preparing any other form of support. “This is a matter to be addressed by the government. It has fallen asleep again and is trying to shift all responsibility to the regions and local governments,” he said.
According to councillor Jiří Winkelhöfer (PRO Plzeň), a tent ten by 15 metres will be erected by the end of this week at the former Prior house on Americká třída, where KACPU operates. “There will be benches and tables, deck chairs, drinking water, and we will have mobile toilets installed nearby,” he said. In case of an emergency, the city is prepared to provide 30 to 50 people with emergency overnight shelter.
The Pilsen region is also preparing for the impact of the changes in refugee accommodation. It is communicating with Plzeň, where most of the refugees are. According to Governor Rudolf Špoták (Pirates), the government, ministries and authorities are again showing a huge lack of preparedness. “We have known since mid-February that this situation will come, but the system, the labour offices and others are not fully prepared for it. We cannot say now how many people will not be able to afford commercial rent and what will happen to those people,” he said.
He did not rule out that the first weeks of July would be “a bit more hectic”. In particular, the county will boost the capacity of KACPU, which still operates three times a week. “We’ve started an information campaign so people won’t be surprised, and we’ll see,” Spotak said. According to the governor, more people may end up on the streets after July 1 because they will not be able to pay for housing, which is why the non-profit sector and increased police checks will also help.
According to the governor, there are around 30,000 Ukrainian refugees in the region, almost half of them in Plzeň. “There are three to four thousand vulnerable people. A lot of vulnerable people are living somewhere private and not asking for subsidised accommodation and are independent of the state,” he said. The region provides long-term accommodation for nearly 3,000 refugees. The rest, up to 30,000, live in hostels and apartments where they pay commercial rent.
Most of the refugees, who are not vulnerable, are expected to work in the country. “We have plenty of jobs in the region, there is certainly employment here,” the governor said. The region has long had the highest number of employed refugees. There are just over 100,000 working in the whole country, including over 15,000 in Pilsen alone, he added.
Source: CTK
