Fairbnb.coop, in partnership with Spółdzielnia PLZ and CoopTech Hub, is launching refugees.fairbnb.coop. This is a portal that easily connects people seeking shelter with hosts ready to welcome others into their homes. An important advantage of the service is its focus on safety – both for refugees and hosts. The platform allows for the verification of registered accommodation and protects personal data. Accommodation listings (flats, houses, rooms and other accommodation) are verified by intermediary organisations (e.g. humanitarian organisations, local authorities, local NGOs) operating in the area.
The pilot project was launched in Gdynia, in partnership with the Miasto Wspólne Association. At the same time, cooperation was established with the Open Dialogue Foundation on the challenge of relocating refugees to smaller towns. The platform is promoted by the Fundacja Wolne Miejsce (Free Place Foundation) and the Ocalenie Foundation.
On 8 June, a press conference was held at InfoBox Gdynia, attended by representatives of partner organisations: Dr Michalina Rutka (Family Without Borders – Tricity, University of Gdańsk), Martyna Regent (Miasto Wspólne Association), Anna Sroka and Maciej Łepkowski (Fairbnb.coop / PLZ Cooperative), Marta Wilczyńska and Mikołaj Rykowski (Free Place Foundation), and Łukasz Puławski (Open Dialogue Foundation).
Helping and believing in people
The conference was opened by Dr Michalina Rutka (Family Without Borders – Tricity, University of Gdańsk), who emphasised the universal foundations of aid as a cornerstone of a healthy society. The act of helping, she noted, is a deeply enriching experience — one that restores faith in humanity and helps build social capital. Referring to the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border, Dr Rutka stressed that assistance must not be conditional on skin colour, religion, or origin. Help should be given to everyone.
The greatest challenge in supporting refugees, she explained, lies in securing housing and employment. Unfortunately, refugees cannot rely on housing support from local governments, as they simply lack available flats. Social housing is also largely out of reach for this group. Therefore alternative solutions must be found. Rutka also underlined that the settlement of people and families from different cultural backgrounds in Poland represents a major opportunity. As such, we should pay attention not only to demographic and economic factors but also to the cultural diversity that enriches our society.
The refugees.fairbnb.coop platform as a tool for local crisis teams
Martyna Regent (Miasto Wspólne Association) spoke about how their organisation – normally focused on protecting public space in Gdynia – had taken on the role of a humanitarian actor. Drawing on their existing network of contacts, they managed to build a base of volunteers supporting various aid aspects. Among other things, they arranged 120 accommodation places in private homes. As a result, within just three weeks of launching the effort, they found shelter for 50 families.
Initially, all activities were coordinated by a grassroots five-person crisis team using Excel spreadsheets. It soon became clear, however, that they needed a better tool to streamline their work and save time. That’s when Miasto Wspólne Association began its cooperation with Fairbnb and the refugees.fairbnb.coop platform. Regent noted that the willingness of city residents to host refugees has been steadily declining, while new people in need of shelter continue to reach out to the association. The shared platform may serve as a new impulse for expanding and updating the housing database. Regent also highlighted the need to adopt a long-term perspective.
In these uncertain times, we must continue to develop tools that can support both refugees and others experiencing homelessness. Such actions directly contribute to the resilience of our cities. This resilience can be built through broad partnerships between NGOs, businesses, and local authorities.
Safety first on refugees.fairbnb.coop
Anna Sroka (Fairbnb.coop / PLZ Cooperative) highlighted that the platform’s primary strength is safety — for both those seeking shelter and the hosts offering accommodation. To use the platform, users must first register. Listings are required to include photos, a detailed description, and a clear indication of whether the offer is free of charge or requires cost reimbursement.
Before a listing goes public, it must be verified by an administrator who can, if needed, contact the host. A useful feature for hosts is the integrated calendar, which allows them to specify exactly when the accommodation is available. Local organisations and institutions play an essential role in managing and verifying listings. Creating and maintaining a shared housing database on a single platform is a practical alternative to scattered files and disorganised forms. It helps build a reliable housing database and saves time for both volunteers and hosts. For those seeking shelter, it guarantees a higher level of safety and greater predictability in the available options.
Smaller towns with space and potential
Łukasz Puławski (Open Dialogue Foundation) pointed to the “congestion” of large cities that welcomed the first major wave of Ukrainian refugees. Following the initial surge of community-driven support and significant aid efforts, a sense of fatigue began to set in. This has increased the demand for housing, both for newly arrived refugees and for those needing to relocate from their initial accommodations.
In major cities, securing housing has become nearly impossible. The rental market is in crisis. Prices have skyrocketed to the point where, even if someone manages to find a job, renting remains beyond reach. That’s why the Open Dialogue Foundation began working on relocation efforts — finding homes for refugees in smaller towns and rural areas that continue to provide available housing and employment opportunities. According to Łukasz Puławski, the personal nature of support from tight-knit local communities can far outweigh the impersonal systems in major urban centres. To encourage refugees to consider relocation, ODF launched the public awareness campaign domivka.pl, which showcases the benefits of this choice through real-life stories.
In the current situation, Puławski argued that we must adopt a medium- and long-term perspective as many refugees are likely to stay in Poland for an extended period or even permanently. Local Poland could become their new, welcoming home, especially considering the demographic and economic trends that have long pointed to the depopulation and decline of these areas.
The refugee crisis is far from over
Marta Wilczyńska and Mikołaj Rykowski from the Wolne Miejsce Foundation spoke about their frontline work at the Polish border. Since the outbreak of the war, the Foundation has been preparing meals for refugees and serving as a first point of contact. Currently, around 20,000 people cross the border every day. Many of them need far more assistance than those who fled in the early stages of the war. These are often elderly individuals, with no savings, no connections, and no prospects.
Mikołaj Rykowski also described the situation in the expo halls near Warsaw, where up to 3,000 people are now living under one roof. Bed next to bed, with small children, pets, and little privacy – exhausted and overwhelmed by hopelessness.
The need for assistance remains enormous, despite growing fatigue and a certain sense of familiarity with the ongoing crisis. For refugees, the most immediate need is food, followed by access to housing and employment. The Free Place Foundation is already employing people from Ukraine — for instance, in its ‘Spichlerz’ social grocery stores. The war will eventually end, but the human relationships we build now will remain and form the foundation of the post-war reality.
Let’s build resilience together!
Closing the event, Michalina Rutka pointed out that tools like the platform refugees.fairbnb.coop, which are designed to be inclusive and serve all those experiencing displacement, have the potential to shape society in the long run — making it more tolerant and open to diversity. Maciej Łepkowski also noted that in the context of a destabilised world and the negative consequences of climate change, we are likely to see new waves of refugee crises. Developing broad cooperation around such digital tools is a long-term strategy.
The meeting concluded with a call from the event’s host, Martyna Regent, inviting more local organisations to join this grassroots partnership for resilience.
We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who dedicated their time and joined the conference. Special thanks go to Martyna Regent and the Miasto Wspólne Association for initiating and co-organising the event. We also thank the Gdynia City Hall for providing the venue at InfoBox Gdynia.
A recording of the conference marking the launch of refugees.fairbnb.coop is available on the YouTube channel of Miasto Wspólne Association.
Organisations behind refugees.fairbnb.coop
Fairbnb.coop – platform operator
The platform refugees.fairbnb.coop was created by the Fairbnb.coop cooperative, which supports ethical short-term accommodation and promotes a socially driven model of tourism. Half of every booking fee goes to local community projects to ensure that tourism growth also supports social development. Fairbnb.coop is a cooperative that treats economic and social progress as equally important pillars.
PLZ Cooperative
The PLZ Cooperative operates with a mission to build a fairer world based on over 200 years of cooperative values — cross-sector collaboration, trust, empowerment of local communities, and co-creating sustainable development. As part of its commitment, PLZ has established the CoopTech Hub, a centre for cooperative technologies that invests in and supports social enterprises.
CoopTech Hub
CoopTech Hub is the first cooperative technology centre in Poland, operated by the PLZ Cooperative. Our goal is to build a community based on trust through a digital reboot of the cooperative movement. We provide education, training, consulting, and implement our own technological solutions. Currently, we support the development of renewable energy communities through the Energy Communities Incubator and are working on the creation of development-focused cooperatives.
Miasto Wspólne Association
The Miasto Wspólne Association works to improve the quality of life for the residents of Gdynia. It is actively engaged in key issues related to mobility, public space, urban greening, and spatial planning. Since the beginning of the war, it has also been helping refugees find shelter in Gdynia.
Open Dialogue Foundation
The Open Dialogue Foundation works to protect human rights, democracy, and the rule of law across the post-Soviet region. It supports the development of civil society in Ukraine and has been organising humanitarian assistance since the start of Russian aggression in 2014. The Foundation maintains permanent offices in Warsaw, Kyiv, and Brussels.
Free Place Foundation
For many years, the Free Place Foundation has organised Poland’s largest Christmas Eve and Easter breakfasts for people in need, in cooperation with more than three thousand volunteers nationwide. The Foundation also runs the ‘Spichlerz’ social grocery network, promoting integration and social activation. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, it has been operating a humanitarian aid point at the Medyka border crossing.
For further inquiries, feel free to contact Maciej Łepkowski, the Fairbnb.coop coordinator at CoopTech Hub, via [email protected].
Source: hub.coop
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