May 2019 | Reception crisis in Northern Greece: three years of emergency solutions Distance from services and hospitals situated in the city of Larissa were another cause of worry and some interviewees reported that in cases of emergency, the ambulance would usually arrive very late. In addition, transport costs placed a significant burden to the stretched finances of those living in this remote camp. Often residents have to travel to Athens or Thessaloniki to access social services and to Larissa to buy affordable food. They said that when they visit Athens or Thessaloniki they are often obliged to stay overnight and sleep rough as they cannot afford accommodation. 2.5.4. FILIPPIADA Filippiada camp was established in the former “Petropoulaki” army camp in Epirus. It is located in a mountainous area and is about 4km distance from the same named village. The nearest towns are Arta (13,7km) and Ioannina (58,2km). The camp is situated on a large gravelcovered area. The back of the camp faces a dense forest. The Greek Army, the Ministry of Migration Policy and RIS are responsible for camp management. Since 15 February 2018, Arbeiter Samariter Bund (ASB) has been responsible for site management support.xcvi EODY staff provides primary health care. A program run by ARSIS providing assistance to vulnerable refugees (children and victims of GBV) ended in December 2018.xcvii Until then, the organization in co-operation with EODY was managing referrals of people with special needs.xcviii Filippiada opened on 18 March 2016, it had a reported official capacity of 700 and it was consisted of 83 tents.xcix In November 2016, tents were replaced with prefabs.c The number of residents did not exceed 200 to 300 persons until July 2018ci when the Ministry of Migration Policy extended the site and placed additional prefabs in order to host another 100 to 200 personscii transferred from Samos and other Aegean islands.ciii In May 2019, two dozens of single women from African origin were reportedly transferred to the site as well as a dozen of Farsi-speaking families. In mid-October 2018, the camp had a reported official capacity of 700 and 487 residents.civ The majority of residents during that period were children (53 %). At the end of January 2019, the number of residents reached 570 following transfers from the islands.cv https://rsaegean.org/en/reception-crisis-in-northern-greece-three-years-of-emergency-solutions 17