In the weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, temporary shelters across Poland were filling beyond capacity — crowded, under-equipped, and offering little more than a floor and a roof. SWB designed the Safe Haven project to do something different: provide genuine accommodation, meals, schooling, and support for over 100 of the most vulnerable refugees, for the duration they needed it. The project ran from May 2022 and was completed after several months of operation.
About the project
Safe Haven was conceived, written, and initiated by Sailors Without Borders. The project was delivered in partnership with the Other Space Foundation (Poland), with operational supervision by Cesvi (Italy), and funded by Brembo (Italy), which selected the SWB proposal for support.
The project provided accommodation with full board, schooling, and psychosocial support for over 100 Ukrainian refugees at Hotel Palace Europa in Lublin, Poland. It launched on 9 May 2022.
Who We Helped
Safe Haven prioritised the most vulnerable among those arriving from Ukraine: mothers with children and infants, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and minorities. We specifically sought people housed in the worst temporary shelters — overcrowded, poorly lit, without adequate sanitation — where refugees were spending weeks or months in deteriorating conditions.
The project aimed to serve two groups: those intending to settle in Poland and build independent lives, and those waiting for the war to end in order to return home. Both deserved stability while that future took shape.
Accommodation
We chose Hotel Palace Europa Lublin — a comfortable, well-equipped hotel in the historic centre of the city — based on criteria developed specifically for this project:
Quality and dignity. The people we were helping had already been through enough. The accommodation needed to offer real comfort, privacy, and conditions as close to normal life as possible — not institutional housing.
Community. Placing over 100 people in one location rather than scattered across smaller sites allowed residents to form a community, communicate in Ukrainian, and support one another through a shared experience.
Full board. Three meals a day, every day, without exception.
Security. Professional security services on site, appropriate to a group that included young children, infants, and people with disabilities.
City centre location. Being in central Lublin gave residents direct access to schools, hospitals, offices, NGOs, public transport, and the practical infrastructure needed to begin rebuilding daily life — whether that meant finding work, continuing education, or simply moving around independently.
The hotel offered free Wi-Fi throughout, two rooms converted into classrooms for online learning, a common room, and a dedicated children’s space with toys, books, and drawing materials. Rooms were designed for one to four people, each with a private bathroom.
Transport
Residents were collected from their temporary shelters and brought to the hotel by small buses and private cars — a more costly approach than standard group transport, but one that avoided the stress of large group pickups and provided a more private, calm arrival experience for people who had already been through considerable upheaval.