A community of about 200 Ukrainians in Riihimäki - integration counselors help those who moved to Riksu with everyday matters

At work in Riksu, there is a story series in which the employees of the city of Riihimäki talk about their work.

Ukrainians Olha Sahan, Dmytro Zubenko and their 14-year-old daughter Liza, who lived in Riihimäki for a year, praise the functionality, forests and parks of their new hometown, as well as their home in Peltosaari. The integration instructor Anton Batura and the integration manager Juha Hiltunen, who helped them, are lounging next to them.

"We appreciate the calm feeling at home and the certainty of tomorrow. The city of Riihimäki has given us a lot. We came here in July 2022, and we just got a residence permit. We're already busy with work, because Olha is studying cleaning and real estate in Hyria and I'm doing a four-week internship at Würth," says Dmytro Zubenko.

Integration instructor Anton Batura (pictured in the middle) came to Riihimäki in the summer of 2022 with his mother and wife. In Ukraine, he worked as a translator. Juha Hiltunen hired him in February 2023 for his team to help the Ukrainians.

Growth from immigration

"In December 2022, I realized that there were hundreds of Ukrainians living in Riihimäki, for whom the possibility of moving to the municipality opened on March 1st. When you move from the reception services to the services of the municipality and the welfare area, the person is an equal resident of the municipality and entitled to the services of the municipality," explains Hiltunen.

In Finland, only about 30 percent of Ukrainians living in municipalities have applied for right of residence, but in Riihimäki the number is about 60 percent. For example, 29 Ukrainians received the right in September and 27 in October. Working-age people are the most significant group.

"In the integration services, we conduct an initial interview for all Ukrainian families who have moved to the municipality. Everyone is staying permanently, which means that the Ukrainian community of more than 200 people in Riihimäki will continue to grow," states Hiltunen.

The city of Riihimäki wants to grow, and one way is immigration. The six-person team of integration services helps the citizens of all countries, but there is a particularly clear action plan for the Ukrainians. The number of customers for integration services has increased by almost 500 percent this year.

"We want to do a good integration job so that we can avoid problems. We are thinking of ways to bring Finns and Ukrainians together in housing, school, work and hobbies. We work closely with associations, sports clubs, music schools, art schools and youth services so that Ukrainians can find a hobby. For example, the library started an art club open to everyone in November, with a Finnish and a Ukrainian art instructor."

An important path to working life

Hiltunen's team cooperates with all industries in the city and invests in business and educational institution cooperation.

"In the past, integration work has been more of a social service. We want to get rid of that stigma, because we focus on employment and integration. If the city's employment services or a company contacts us looking for an employee, we translate the announcement into Ukrainian and send it to the Ukrainian community, and we are also involved in the recruitment process to interpret," says Hiltunen.

The city has employed Ukrainians in, for example, early childhood education and basic education. When they have applied for home municipality registration, they are entitled to 6, 8 or 12 months of government salary support. From the employer's point of view, it facilitates recruitment.

"The tool company Würth has bought a recruitment and training service in the logistics sector from Hyria. Seven people are there now doing work training as packers and collectors. Hyria does operational cooperation, but integration services have been involved in finding suitable people there. Many Ukrainians are also in nursing training," says Hiltunen.

For immigrants, the TE office's integration training, social orientation and language training are included. There are about 150 Ukrainian children in basic education, and many of them already know Finnish well.

"Language is the key to integration. I just negotiated with Riihimäki civic college to start two new Finnish courses for a total of 30 people. This has been a bottleneck in Riihimäki. Every month, we send a letter to all immigrants who have moved to Riksuu, in which we provide detailed information about the city's services. The city's website has also been translated into Ukrainian."

Help and information in Ukrainian

Integration counselor Anton Batura translates information into Ukrainian and answers Ukrainians' questions online. On Mondays and Thursdays, he helps Ukrainians face-to-face in Riksula with practical matters.

"For example, we make an electricity contract together or go to the bank. An important part of my job is to help in transitioning to become a resident of the municipality. I really like my job, even though I don't have similar experience in Ukraine. Fortunately, I can always ask Juha for help."

Integration services organize community orientation by theme in Riksula (Eteläinen Asemakatu 2). Then, for example, a dentist from the health center is asked to talk about dental care, and the integration service arranges Ukrainian interpreters.

In his work, Hiltunen describes the experiences of success related to integration as the best.

"When our customers get a job or study and find a hobby, it feels great."

Integration services of the city of Riihimäki

• Integration services have about 350 customers, of which about 270 are Ukrainians. Reception services have about 500 Ukrainians.
• There are 233 Ukrainians who have received residence permit. The number is 59 percent of those who met the conditions and could apply for residence permit.
• About 5,5 percent of Riihimäki's residents have a foreign background. There are 1568 people whose mother tongue is not Finnish or Swedish. The largest number are Russian, Estonian, Vietnamese, English, Turkish, Thai, Arabic and Polish speakers. The statistic was made on 31.12.2022 December XNUMX.
• Refugee or immigrant? Finland annually accepts quota refugees from UN refugee camps. The quota was 1050 people in 2023. The Parliament decides next year's quota in December. The board program has a quota of 500 people. Through the Ely centers, they are distributed to the municipalities.
• The asylum seeker comes to the border, applies for asylum and is directed to the reception center, where the asylum process starts. The Finnish Immigration Service handles it.
• For Ukrainians, the EU organizes a new accelerated temporary protection status, based on which a residence permit is granted to those who fled the war in Ukraine.
• Of course, you can move to the country for other reasons as well. In recent years, the majority have moved to Finland with a work permit. Similarly, the number of international students has been increasing. EU citizens have free movement in the Schengen area.
• The Finnish Immigration Service is responsible for the costs of the reception centers. Riihimäki has a large reception center that provides basic services to its customers. However, the city also offers early childhood education and basic education for children in reception services.

Reija Ypyä