STEPS: With the "Many Stops" initiative, no one is left behind

The Greek organisation STEPS was awarded the prize because of its contribution to providing food and medical supplies and support to socially excluded groups and individuals. A few days after the start of the first complete lockdown, staff working for STEPS transformed the existing One Stop initiative into a Many Stops one, providing warm meals, water and toiletries to numerous marginalised families in precarious housing and to people living on the streets.

EESCinfo: What prompted you to start your project or initiative?

As soon as we were informed about the first total lockdown, we realised that people who were living on the streets or in similar situations would be marginalised, with no access to basic services.

That's why we decided to go ahead and implement the Many Stops initiative.

How was your project received? Have you obtained any feedback from the people you helped?

We usually heard expressions of gratitude, such as "Thank you for being here" or "If you hadn't been here, we don't know what we would have done".

How will you use this specific funding to provide further help in the community? Are you planning any new projects?

When the first lockdown ended we made some changes to our action. In addition to our continuous presence on the streets of the city and the practical support we provide (full meals, water, juice, milk, personal protective equipment such as masks and antiseptic gel, and personal hygiene items), at the beginning of September 2020 we started providing legal advice on the street in cooperation with Human Rights 360°.

Part of the prize money that comes with the award will be shared amongst the groups and organisations that took part in Many Stops, and the rest will be spent on the Street Embrace and Street Lawyering actions.

What advice would you give to other organisations in terms of achieving results with such activities and programmes?

Experience has taught us that consistency, loyalty, tolerance and sincere acceptance are the basic elements that an initiative must have.