Great response to information event for refugees from Ukraine

On Wednesday evening, almost 150 Ukrainians and employees of support centres took part in a city information event at LernWerk with great interest. Under the title "Securing residence - finding work", experts provided important information on the current legal situation and integration into the labour market.

The evening focussed on the existing protection regulations, possible changes to the law and concrete offers of support at a local level. Temporary protection for refugees from Ukraine is currently regulated by law until March 2027. In order to show the approximately 1,000 Ukrainians currently living in Bocholt prospects for the time afterwards at an early stage, the city administration invited them to the LernWerk event hall on Wednesday. The response to the offer was enormous: almost 200 visitors took the opportunity to find out first-hand about their future in Germany.

The information event was organised jointly by the Immigration Office, the Job Centre, the Social Welfare Office and the Municipal Integration Management (KIM). The experts shed light on the most important residence law issues and provided specific insights into the current labour market situation. The participants were shown how to find suitable job offers and which municipal and regional support programmes are available. Another key topic of the evening was the impending change of legal status to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. The speakers explained objectively what such a change might look like and what legal steps are involved.

Following the technical presentations, attendees had the opportunity to ask individual questions directly to the experts from the respective specialist centres. In addition to the Ukrainian asylum seekers, the event was also attended by representatives of advice centres and other interested parties from the refugee aid sector, to whom the invitation was also expressly addressed.

Max Benda, Head of the Social Affairs Department of the City of Bocholt, was satisfied with how the evening went and emphasised the preventative approach of the administrative level. "The high number of participants clearly shows us how great the need for reliable and transparent information is", explained the head of department. "The direct exchange helps to reduce fears of bureaucratic changes and to make concrete offers of help visible." It is the city's central concern to enter into dialogue with people at an early stage and to find good and suitable solutions together.