HELIOS Junior — housing and autonomy for young adults 18–21
When unaccompanied children turn 18 they often lose all protection. In our Thessaloniki apartments they find a safe home and support towards independence.
Turning 18 is one of the most dangerous moments in an unaccompanied child's journey: on their birthday they lose access to child protection services, often without a home, a job or a network.
HELIOS Junior, part of IOM's HELIOS integration programme, supports young people aged 18–21 who arrived in Greece as unaccompanied minors. In Vela's apartments in Thessaloniki they find a safe home and daily support from our team.
Together we work on life skills — running a household and a budget, language, paperwork — and on preparing for work: CVs, vocational training, connections with employers. The goal is simple: to leave the programme with a home, an income and the network they need to stand on their own.