Current Projects

Structure and Impact

Belgrade, Serbia:

Since January 2025, Collective Aid has been operating from Belgrade, supporting the people-on-the-move sleeping rough in the region across Serbia while carrying out investigative research into Dead and Missing persons reports. Due to the changing humanitarian context across the country, the programme is distributing much-needed items while carrying out vital systemic advocacy to report human rights concerns.

We support the population in and around Belgrade and beyond with clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, hygiene items, showers, laundry, food, and drinking water. We also have the equipment to facilitate mobile showers near locations where people are sleeping rough.

As a member of the Border Violence Monitoring Network, we are part of a coalition of organisations working in the Balkans and Greece to monitor human rights violations at the external borders of the European Union. This requires our volunteers to identify and work with people who have injuries or mention violence, reporting concerns for advocacy purposes.

Due to the sheer volume of human rights concerns we have encountered in the past five years in Serbia, it is essential that we, as one of the few organisations still active in this region, continue to operate and meet the urgent needs of the population while drawing attention to violations and mistreatment.

If you want to support this project, donate here.

Photos by Janos Buck, Jericho Leavitt and Dan Schoolar

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Since July 2018, Collective Aid has been supporting people-on-the-move stuck in Bosnia and Herzegovina through multiple outlets and projects.

We are currently distributing essential aid like underwear, socks, hygiene packs, clothing, sleeping bags and shoes to people who are sleeping rough around Sarajevo. We collaborate closely with other organizations on the ground on the identification and referral of potential cases for basic legal aid and medical interventions.

In July 2021, we took over a Vision Care project from another organization. Collective Aid now works together in partnership with a local optician to help people-on-the-move get fitting glasses for themselves. In the second half of 2022, we distributed food vouchers in partnership with Caritas BiH.

We are part of the Border Violence Monitoring Network, which consists of many organizations working mainly in the Balkans and Greece that monitor human rights violations at the external borders of the European Union. Our volunteers are identifying people with injuries or mentioning violence and offer them to report those for advocacy purposes.

If you want to support this project, donate here.

Lesvos, Greece:

Collective Aid opened its free shop in Lesvos after taking over operations from LeaveNoOneBehind in July 2024. In June 2025, we expanded our work by also taking over the Laundry and the Hygiene Free Shop. Together, these services aim to meet immediate needs while also resisting the systems that deliberately keep people in precarity.

All of our services are based in the Paréa Community Centre, a shared space where different groups work collectively to support those trapped by the EU’s containment policies on the island.

• Clothes Free Shop
  
  Open three times per week, the shop provides clothing for men, women and children. People register and then choose the clothes they need in a calm and dignified process, avoiding long lines and unnecessary bureaucracy.
  

• Hygiene Free Shop
  
  Our Hygiene Free Shop focuses especially on single men, who are often excluded from humanitarian distributions. We are currently the only service on the island providing them with essential hygiene items. Once a month, service users receive a bag containing shampoo, soap, a towel, toothpaste, and a toothbrush, basic items that are essential for dignity and well-being.
  

• Laundry
  
  The Laundry operates Monday to Friday. People bring their clothes to us, which we wash, dry, and return within one to four days depending on our capacity. With 8 washing machines and 14 dryers, we provide access to clean clothes in a safe and hygienic environment, something that should be a right, not a privilege.
  

These projects are not a substitute for state responsibility. They exist because European migration policies deliberately create gaps in support. Our work is rooted in solidarity with people on the move, while challenging the structures that make such services necessary.

Alongside this, Collective Aid is part of the Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), documenting evidence of human rights violations, including violent and illegal pushbacks carried out by Frontex and the Greek coastguards. Since 2020, the Open Assembly Against Border Violence in Lesvos has reported more than 22,000 pushbacks, many involving physical violence, theft, and the destruction of belongings. These acts are part of the wider system of deterrence and criminalisation of migration at Europe’s borders.

Supporting these projects means not only covering urgent needs but also joining the struggle for justice and accountability at the EU’s external borders.

If you want to support this project, donate here.

Photos by Maria Kalochristianaki