To offer language support services for people from Ukraine who may need them when interacting with the Swiss authorities, HEKS/EPER has launched the emergency aid scheme called "HEKS/EPER Ukrainian" in the cantons of Basel City and Solothurn, using community or lay interpreters. HEKS/EPER recruits and assists Ukrainian- or Russian-speaking volunteers and supplies them for special assignments. His service may be booked via an order form.
Under a mandate from the city of Aarau, HEKS/EPER runs a contact point at the former Herosé retirement home in Aarau where Ukrainian refugees are now being housed, to attend to all the questions and concerns of the new residents. HEKS/EPER staff members are present every day, providing information in Russian and Ukrainian, offering advice, and referring refugees to third bodies, where necessary. Besides, HEKS/EPER organizes a weekly “Coffee-Break” in Herosé – a social get-together where HEKS/EPER provides information pertaining to life in Switzerland.
In addition, under the regular HEKS/EPER programmes, refugees from Ukraine are assisted in becoming socially and professionally integrated: collaborators from HEKS/EPER MosaiQ advise and assist well-qualified Ukrainians in obtaining recognition of their qualifications, and support them in entering the Swiss job market. HEKS/EPER integration and language courses impart to Ukrainian children and adults not just language skills in German and French, but also useful information about life in Switzerland. HEKS/EPER intercultural mediators advise Ukrainian families on various aspects of daily family life and inform them about the local education, health and social systems. HEKS/EPER AltuM – Old Age and Migration schemes are also open to Ukrainian refugees 50 years and over, offering them opportunities for social interaction, access to language courses as well as information to better familiarize them with their new place of residence and help them fit into their new environment.
