22nd December 2010 – Within the scope of the project, “Providing adequate housing solutions to the extremely vulnerable refugees and internally displaced persons in Serbia,” financed on behalf of the Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration of the American ministry of Foreign Affairs, an agreement of cooperation was signed in the municipality of Kladovo regarding the construction of 17 housing units to be used as social housing in supportive conditions. The signatories of the aforementioned contract were the municipality of Kladovo, the Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia, Centre for Social Employment and the Danish Refugee Council.

The ceremony itself was attended by Mr. Dejan Nikolić, president of the municipality of Kladovo, Mr. Vladan Hadžić, chief of the Commissariat for Refugees’ department dealing with general, human resource and legal issues, Mr. Ljubiša Stojković, director of the Centre for Social Employment of the municipality of Kladovo and Ms. Helena Lassen, project manager and representative of the Danish Refugee Council. The project aims at supporting the improvement of the living conditions of refugee and internally displaced persons currently residing in the Collective Centre of “Karataš” in Kladovo, as well improving the living conditions of a limited number of local, socially vulnerable families living on the territory of the municipality of Kladovo.

The Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia has in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy in conjunction with the National Strategy for the resolution of concerns of refugee and internally displaced persons, conceptualized the program of social housing within a supportive environment, intended for that category of persons considered as being the most vulnerable. The financial resources employed in this undertaking have been made available by the Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration of the American ministry of Foreign Affairs. The project itself is to be implemented through the combined efforts of the Danish Refugee Council and the Commissariat for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia in close cooperation with the municipality of Kladovo and the UNHCR. In this manner, 17 of the most vulnerable families (14 internally displaced or refugee families from the Collective Centre of “Karataš” and 3 of the most vulnerable, local families) will be offered support in the improvement of their living conditions and will be extricated from their current, arduous living conditions and relocated into the housing units built for the purpose of providing social housing in a supportive environment.

The groups being targeted in this undertaking are those considered as being the most vulnerable, both as concerns individuals and families, such as for example: single mothers, families of the handicapped or else of those suffering from a severe medical condition, the elderly and infirm who live without the support of their families and other socially vulnerable families.