Together with OKO.press, we have launched a fundraiser to support people affected by the law ending aid for unemployed refugees from Ukraine, including elderly people, those who are ill or undergoing life-saving treatment, people with disabilities, and mothers with multiple children.

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Every day, people from Ukraine in desperate situations turn to the Polish Migration Forum Foundation:

  • Volodymyr, 71, a cancer patient, is losing his entitlement to state support, and there is no way for him to return to Ukraine on his own;
  • Nadiia, aged 74, a cancer patient who has had her thyroid and lymph nodes removed, cannot obtain a disability certificate, and her oncologist refuses continue treatment due to a lack of insurance; she cannot afford a private consultation;
  • Iryna, a widow and mother of three children – one with a spinal injury, and two awaiting a disability assessment – is left without assistance until the assessment is completed;
  • Larysa – an elderly woman who has lost her right to treatment, yet needs medication every day;
  • and a care worker whose heart is breaking because she is forced to send Ukrainian residents to homeless shelters.

There are families in Poland who often have nowhere else to go. They are unable to earn a living, yet they also have no home to return to.

On 5 March 2026, the so-called “phase-out law” concerning aid for refugees from Ukraine came into force. Politicians decided that housing assistance, the 800+ benefit and medical care would no longer be available to unemployed refugees – precisely those who need this support the most.

We are witnessing the many personal tragedies this decision has caused.

The elderly, the sick, those undergoing life-saving treatment, people with disabilities, and mothers with several children have been left to deal with the situation on their own.

In our view, this is disgraceful and inhumane. It is also a betrayal of the solidarity with Ukraine that we showed the world following Russia’s attack in February 2022.

Let us help the people who have found themselves in crisis following these changes in the regulations. Let us save Volodymyr, Nadia, Iryna, Larysa, and our Polish conscience.

They are in Poland not by choice, but because a bloody war is raging in their country—a war in which our own security is also at stake.

Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees work in Poland and contribute to the economy, generating 2.7 per cent of GDP, while the revenue from their health insurance contributions more than covers the costs of full medical care for all refugees.

We will use the funds to support those in the most difficult circumstances. Specifically:

  • medicines and access to essential treatment,
  • support in obtaining a disability certificate,
  • emergency, short-term accommodation,
  • transport to access support,
  • tailored assistance based on an assessment of the individual’s specific situation carried out by one of our staff members.

The fundraising initiative on pomagam.pl is a joint initiative by OKO.press and the Polish Migration Forum Foundation. We are supported by ‘Kwiatki Polskie’ (a TVP Info programme) and Radio Trójka.

We will share the funds raised with the beneficiaries of other organisations supporting people from Ukraine.

We will account for every zloty. We realise just how much we must value your solidarity with the refugees, who have been deprived of their livelihoods by the politicians.

>>SUPPORT<<<