Information for Ukrainians and the residents of Porvoo helping them

Porvoo Adult Education Centre’s Moi services offer advice at Ohjaamo, Mannerheiminkatu 20 E, on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 15:00–18:00 in Russian and on Thursdays at 15:00–18:00 in Ukrainian. The Moi service provides everyday advice on things like emergency health services, early childhood education and care, school, recreation, Kela services, employment and residence permit matters.

All refugees are eligible for a library card. With a library card, you can use a computer and read e-materials available in Ukrainian and Russian, such as newspapers.

Information in Ukrainian:

Ukrainian citizens arriving in Finland because of Russia’s invasion can currently stay in the country visa-free for 90 days. Ukrainian citizens can apply for temporary protection or asylum from the police or border authorities. After this, they are instructed to contact the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri). The Finnish Immigration Service will provide information on further measures and reception services.

The Finnish Immigration Service’s Ukraine pages provide information for both Ukrainians in Ukrainian and the people helping them.

The reception centre in Porvoo is located at Rauhankatu 14. The centre arranges housing, health care, social services, and reception allowances for their clients. The centre can also give you advice on these subjects.

The reception centre is open on weekdays at 9 AM–11 AM. You can also book an appointment if you need help regarding health care or social services.

The centre cooperates with local associations and congregations. The city of Porvoo provides for example day care and preparation for basic education for children. Anyone is free to advertise events and hobbies suited for the centre’s clients on the centre’s bulletin board.

The reception centre has the capacity to care for 400 clients seeking temporary protection or asylum.

The reception centre in Porvoo

• located at Rauhankatu 14
• open Mon–Fri 9 AM–11 AM
• social advisor and social worker’s reception Wed and Thu 9 AM–11 AM
• nurse’s reception Tue and Wed 9 AM–11 AM
• Office +35844 778 72 64 (weekdays 8 AM–6 PM, weekends 10 AM–6 PM)

The centre is a sub-office of the reception centre in Loviisa. The centre is operated by Hemcare Oy.

Refugees arriving in Finland are accommodated primarily at reception centres. The reception centre can also arrange housing. Many refugees also live in private accommodation, like in Porvoo. By applying for temporary protection and asylum, refugees gain the right to use reception centre services regardless of their accommodation. Refugees must report their current address to the reception centre to be eligible for reception services.

We encourage all those offering home accommodation and interested in doing so to join their closest local group of the Home Accommodation Network, read the materials produced by the network and participate in home accommodation training.

If you wish to provide accommodation to Ukrainians at your home, please prepare for the agreed upon home accommodation by reading the home accommodation guide available in several different languages (including Ukrainian). You can prepare an accommodation agreement using the Home Accommodation Network’s agreement template, for example.

You can also find important information on the Finnish Immigration Service’s and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare’s (THL) websites.

Those living with refugees from Ukraine should get vaccinated against polio. To do so, please contact your local health centre.

If you are providing accommodation to refugees from Ukraine, you can request food, clothing and goods donations from the following parties:

Ukrainians arriving in Porvoo are provided with health services primarily through the reception centre and secondarily via Näsi Health Centre, maternity and child health clinics and school health care or in a coordinated manner via emergency accommodation. The first step is to go over the person’s vaccinations and other health issues.

Refugees over the age of 17 who arrived independently or the residents of Porvoo helping them can contact the health station’s appointment booking service, tel. +358 19 520 4351. The point of contact for pregnant refugees and children between the ages of 0 and 6 is public health nurse Minna Nousiainen, tel. +358 40 766 1803. The point of contact for school-aged refugees under the age of 17 is public health nurse Pia Luoto, tel. +358 40 091 2628.

Children arriving from Ukraine can participate in instruction preparing for basic education and preparatory pre-primary education. A child under school age is entitled to early childhood education and care placement. The application for this can be submitted by filling out a paper form at Service Centre Kompassi.

Ukrainians arriving in Porvoo can participate in family cafés intended for parents and their children.

Porvoo Adult Education Centre’s Meeting Point courses are open to all immigrants and cover a variety of subjects, including the Finnish language. Porvoo Adult Education Centre’s Finnish summer courses will continue until Midsummer. For more information on available courses, please visit Porvoo Adult Education Centre’s website.

Employment plays an important role in integration. Immigrants can start working in Finland as soon as the police or border authorities have registered their application for temporary protection.

The City of Porvoo supports employment. The City of Porvoo, TE Services and Posintra provide support to Ukrainians in finding employment and to Porvoo-based companies looking to employ Ukrainians.

The culture and leisure time services of Porvoo include a variety of services that make everyday life more enjoyable and help refugees adapt to their new living environment.

All refugees are eligible for a library card. With a library card, you can use a computer and read e-materials available in Ukrainian and Russian, such as newspapers. The library also has Russian-language literature. The library is currently in the process of procuring Ukrainian-language literature for children and young people. The library also offers an online film service and board games and sports equipment for loan.

Everyone is welcome to join the Sports Services’ exercise groups, as long as there is room in the groups. Groups and events suitable for families with children include Lasten liikuntamaa (general exercise for children) and Koko perheen palloilumaa (ball games for families). The City’s sports areas are also open to everyone.

The Cultural Services of Porvoo offer event tickets, museum tours and workshops. The Music Institute offers free-of-charge group activities, personal instructions and music instruments for loan.

Porvoo Art School offers free-of-charge group instruction in visual arts for children and young people.

Participation in the City’s youth activities is free of charge and open to all young people. The card used in the City’s open youth activities is available to everyone in the age group. The City’s Outreach Youth Work can help find meaningful things to do. Guidance centre Ohjaamo provides services to young people under the age of 30 in English as well as other languages under the Moi project.

Residents of Porvoo interested in volunteer work can contact the following parties:

The Multicultural Forum brings together a wide range of immigration and integration experts in Porvoo, such as organisations, associations and parishes. The Forum has established Ukraina Extra for the express purpose of helping Ukrainian refugees. Ukraina Extra helps coordinate the organisation of aid and activities so that they correspond to Ukrainians’ needs. The convener is the Immigration Services of the City of Porvoo.

The City of Porvoo is currently not accepting clothing and good donations for Ukrainians living in Porvoo. The City has already been provided with plenty of clothes and supplies by volunteers.

If you wish to make a donation, we recommend doing so via reliable organisations, such as the Finnish Red Cross, Finn Church Aid, Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders or the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Organisations are primarily looking for monetary support, which will be allocated directly to those in need or used for supplies that are running low in different parts of Ukraine.

The City of Porvoo has donated care supplies to Ukraine and made a monetary donation to the Finnish Red Cross for crisis work in Ukraine. The Eastern Uusimaa Emergency Services Department has also sent first aid equipment and an ambulance to Ukraine.

If you have any questions about your military service or reserve status, please contact the Uusimaa Regional Office of the Finnish Defence Forces.

The party responsible for protecting the civilian population in Porvoo is the Eastern Uusimaa Emergency Services Department in collaboration with other parties defined in the Rescue Act. In the event that civil defence shelters were needed to be put into use in Porvoo, the order to do so would be issued by the Emergency Services Department. The Emergency Services Department would also organise the evacuation of residents who do not have access to a civil defence shelter.

If you are wondering about civil defence, the first thing to do is to look at your own environment and determine whether your housing company has any civil defence shelters. Many large housing companies and workplaces have their own civil defence shelters for residents and employees, respectively. Civil defence shelters can also be found at public facilities, such as schools and day care centres. These types of properties must also have their own rescue plans.

Smaller housing companies and private homes do not usually have their own civil defence shelters. There are no public civil defence shelters in Eastern Uusimaa. This is no cause for concern, however. If there was a need to take shelter, the Emergency Services Department would see to it that the population is protected by e.g. moving (evacuating) residents to safe areas or by designating shelters in nearby areas.

Information on safety for private individuals, housing companies and organisations:

You can prepare for various emergency situations by maintaining an emergency food supply at home. An emergency food supply will help keep you safe in the event of disruptions, such as water and power outages or illness.

The recommended emergency food supply consists of three days’ worth of food, liquids and containers with lids for storing water. Remember to include food for any pets, too. Additionally, you should make sure to have necessary medication, cash and other everyday supplies at home.

The Rescue Services’ website provides information on how to prepare for various emergencies and what to do in case of emergency:

Although following the news and online discussion about the current global situation can make you think of all kinds of threat scenarios, you should keep in mind that Finland is not currently under any military threat. As such, you can continue your everyday life as normal while protecting children and young people in particular from the flood of information and image material depicting the Russian invasion.

Take care of your own well-being. Following everyday routines and maintaining a daily rhythm help keep your thoughts in order in an uncertain life situation.

There is a great deal of information floating around on social media that is not based on facts. Be careful of where you look for information. Focusing too much on the news can leave you feeling anxious and hopeless and thus force your body and mind to maintain a constant state of alertness, straining them.

Ease your mind by listening to music or audio books, taking relaxing walks or doing breathing exercises, for example. Getting enough rest and eating regular meals also help you balance your mind and body.

If you need help with coping, the City of Porvoo’s mental health and substance abuse services can help. Our services include open groups for learning stress relief and everyday life management.

If you wish, you can use the Terapianavigaattori service (available in Finnish and Swedish) on our website to assess your need for mental health services and then call our helpline, tel. +358 19 520 4527. The Terapianavigaattori service helps us find the right form of support and care for you faster.

In the event of an emergency outside of office hours, advice and guidance is available via Eastern Uusimaa Social and Crisis Emergency Services, tel. +358 40 517 41 94.

The parishes of Porvoo also offer various forms of help and support.

Check these as well: