Resources and helplines for families fleeing Ukraine
How to receive essential services, protection and other support if you're a refugee from Ukraine entering a neighbouring country.
- Available in:
- English
- русский
- Українська
If you or someone you care about has been displaced from Ukraine and is currently in a neighbouring or surrounding country, there is help available. Below, you will find essential contacts for receiving reliable information, advice and counselling. Asking for support is a sign of strength and free and confidential help is available for you.
Types of helplines and hotlines available
Call the European emergency line if you are in immediate danger: 112
Call the missing children hotline if you are under the age of 18 and missing from your home; a parent or caregiver of a missing child or young person; or an adult who has information about a missing child: 116 000
Child helplines are available for children, young people and caregivers. Contact a child helpline for information, advice and support, or if you simply need somebody to talk to. See below for the child helpline numbers in your country.
Anti-violence helplines are available to provide support if you or someone you know has experienced or is experiencing violence. There are trained professionals who will support you to take the next steps. See below for the anti-violence helpline numbers in your country.
Anti-trafficking helplines are available if you or someone you know is affected by or at risk of a trafficking. See below for the anti-trafficking helpline numbers in your country.
Mental health and psychosocial support helplines are available if you are finding it hard to cope and are wanting somebody to talk to. See below for the mental health and psychosocial support helpline numbers in your country.
Helplines by country
Bulgaria
|
Need |
Resource |
|
Emergency number |
112 |
|
Missing children hotline |
116 000 |
|
Legal advice |
116 111 |
| Anti-violence helpline | 0800 18 676 |
|
Anti-trafficking helpline |
0800 20 100 |
|
Mental health and psychosocial support helplines |
0800 11 466; |
| Staying safe online | https://www.safenet.bg/en/ |
|
Further information on essential services and humanitarian assistance |
|
| Embassy of Ukraine in Bulgaria | +359 878 015 102 (hotline, in cases of emergency); Website |
Czech Republic
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Emergency number | 112 |
| Missing children hotline | 116 000 |
| Child helpline | 116 111 |
| Anti-violence helpline | 116 006 |
| Anti-trafficking helpline | +420 222 717 171 |
| Mental health and psychosocial support helpline | 116 111 |
| Further information on essential services and humanitarian assistance | UNHCR help page |
| Embassy of Ukraine in the Czech Republic |
+420 602 224 938 (hotline, in cases of emergency); |
Hungary
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Emergency number | 112 |
| Missing children hotline | 116 000 |
| Child helpline |
116 111 (Hungarian language); +36 80 984 590 (Ukrainian and Russian language on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 16:00 and 20:00) |
| Anti-violence helpline | +36 80 505 101 |
| Anti-trafficking helpline | +36 80 20 55 20 |
| Mental health and psychosocial support helpline | +36 30 44 34 751 |
| Staying safe online | https://saferinternet.hu/ |
| Further information on essential services and humanitarian assistance | |
| Embassy of Ukraine in Hungary |
+36 14 22 41 18 (hotline, in cases of emergency); |
Italy
|
Need |
Resource |
|
Emergency number |
112 |
|
Missing children hotline |
116 000 |
|
Child helpline |
114 |
|
Anti-violence helpline |
15 22 |
|
Anti-trafficking helpline |
800 290 290 |
|
Mental health and psychosocial support helplines |
1 96 96 |
| Staying safe online | https://www.generazioniconnesse.it/site/it/home-page |
|
Further information on essential services and humanitarian assistance |
|
|
Embassy of Ukraine in Italy |
+39 068 41 26 30 (hotline, in cases of emergency); |
Moldova
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Emergency number | 112 |
| Missing children hotline | 116 000 |
| Child helpline |
116 111; Website (chat services available) |
| Anti-violence helpline | 0800 88 008 |
| Anti-trafficking helpline | 0800 77 777 |
| Mental health and psychosocial support helpline |
116 111 |
| Further information on essential services and humanitarian assistance | |
| Embassy of Ukraine in Moldova |
+373 22 59 29 87 or +373 60 17 08 96 (hotlines in cases of emergency); |
Poland
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Emergency number | 112 |
| Missing children hotline | 116 000 |
| Child helpline | 116 111 |
| Anti-violence helpline | 116 123 |
| Anti-trafficking helpline | +48 22 628 01 20 |
| Mental health and psychosocial support helpline | +48 22 255 22 02 |
| Staying safe online | https://www.saferinternet.pl |
| Further information on essential services and humanitarian assistance |
UNHCR help Page; |
| Embassy of Ukraine in Poland |
+48 69 860 88 37 (hotline in cases of emergency); |
Romania
| Need | Resource |
|---|---|
| Emergency number | 112 |
| Missing children hotline | 116 000 |
| Child Helpline |
116 111 |
| Anti-violence helpline | 0800 500 333 |
| Anti-trafficking helpline | 0800 800 678 |
| Mental health and psychosocial support helplines | 116 111 |
| Staying safe online | |
| Essential services and humanitarian assistance | |
| Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Romania |
+40 212 303 660 (hotline in cases of emergency); |
Slovakia
|
Need |
Resource |
|
Emergency number |
112 |
|
Missing children hotline |
116 000 |
|
Child helpline |
116 111 (Slovak language); 0800 500 500 (Ukrainian and Russian language) |
|
Anti-violence helpline |
0800 212 212 |
|
Anti-trafficking helpline |
0800 800 818 |
|
Mental health and psychosocial support helplines |
0800 222 450; 0800 500 333 |
|
Further information on essential services and humanitarian assistance |
|
|
Embassy of Ukraine in Slovakia |
+421 259 202 813 (hotline, in cases of emergency ); |
Ukraine
|
Need |
Resource |
|
Emergency number |
112 |
|
Missing children hotline |
116 111 |
|
Child helpline |
116 111; 0800 500 225 |
|
Anti-violence helpline |
1547; 0 800 500 335; 116 123 |
|
Anti-trafficking helpline |
527; 0800 505 501; 1547; 0 800 500 335; 116 123 |
|
Mental health and psychosocial support helplines |
0 800 500 335; 116 123 |
Stay safe, stay alert
Anti-violence numbers for other EU countries: https://www.coe.int/en/web/istanbul-convention/help-lines
Child helpline numbers for other EU countries: https://childhelplineinternational.org/ukraine-crisis-child-helplines/
Anti-trafficking numbers for other countries: https://www.helpforukrainians.info/contact-info/
Online safety centres for other EU countries: https://www.betterinternetforkids.eu/sic
If you're crossing a border:
❌ Don’t trust job or educational offers from anyone other than authorities, especially if you're pressured to commit right away or required to separate from your friends or family.
✅ Keep digital and paper copies of your passport, ID and other certificates.
❌ Never leave your passport, ID or other certificates with someone you don’t know.
✅ Stay with your family and friends as much as possible. It’s always safer to travel with people you know.
✅ If you must get in a car with someone you don’t know, take a photo of the license plate and send it to someone you trust. Tell that person where you are going and when you should arrive.
✅ Exercise extreme caution when giving your personal details to others, including on social media.
✅ If a stranger offers help and something doesn’t feel right, trust your instinct.
✅ Keep your phone charged.
✅ Be informed about the places that you are travelling through and to.
If you're travelling with children:
✅ Teach your children their full names, your full name and your phone number. Have them practice repeating it.
✅ Identify a meeting point and plan to go there in case you get separated from your children.
✅ For very small children, prepare an identity tag (like a bracelet or something attached to their clothing) with the child’s name and your contact details.
✅ For children with mobile phones, save your contact as 'AA Emergency Contact 1' and that of a trusted loved one as 'AA Emergency Contact 2,' etc.
✅ Talk to your children about the potential risks of travelling and encourage them to share with you anything that may be worrying them.
✅ As much as possible, allow your children time to rest, sleep and even play while travelling.
❌ Don’t allow your children to be taken out of your sight or to any location without you.
✅ If anyone is acting or threatening to act violent against you or your children, seek immediate safety before informing the authorities.
✅ While travelling, hold your child's hand or take other precautions to keep them close.
❌ Beware of anyone offering you a job, shelter or education for your children. Don't accept offers of services or support from anyone other than an authorized official.
If you're helping an unaccompanied child:
❌ Don’t assume the child is lost. A parent or caregiver may be close by.
✅ Ask others in the immediate vicinity if they know the child. Ask for the child's name and other family details.
❌ Don’t accept help from any stranger who offers to transport the child to safety.
✅ Keep the child's belongings with her at all times. These might help authorities trace her family.
❌ Don’t share information about the child with anyone else, aside from competent authorities.
✅ Contact a competent authority – such as the local municipality government, border police, or Ukraine’s consular services in the host country. Share the child’s information and location, and follow the authority’s instructions.
✅ Explain to the child what will happen next, without promising to find his parents. This could cause him additional confusion or distress.
✅ Don't leave the child until she is safely in the hands of a competent authority.