On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, Her Majesty Queen Letizia of Spain accompanied by the First Lady of the United States Her Excellency Dr. Jill Biden visited the Centro de Recepción, Atención y Derivación (CREADE) in Pozuelo de Alarcon.

The CREADE is one of the first of four refugee reception centers, authorized by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, created since the beginning of the the war in Ukraine. The purpose of CREADE is to provide work and temporary residency permits to those displaced by the war. Since March 11, 2022, the CREADE has helped more than 20,000 Ukrainian refugees. Today, more than 17,000 refugees have received temporary residency and work permits.

During today’s visit, Her Majesty Queen Letizia and First Lady Dr. Biden spoke with several Ukrainian families living in the center. The families informed Her Majesty and the First Lady about the conflict in Ukraine as well as the help CREADE has provided for them since they arrived in Spain.

Her Majesty Queen Letizia and First Lady Dr. Biden also held a meeting with representatives from various institutions and organizations that have helped the refugees at the center by providing them with different services, such as documentation, socio-labour guidance, and psychological as well as health care.