Riverside Company Portco Alter Pharma Builds Shelter for Displaced Ukrainian Civilians
Pharmaceutical group Alter Pharma - a portfolio company of lower middle-market private equity firm The Riverside Company - has set up an emergency shelter in Anderlecht, Belgium, for Ukrainian civilians who urgently need a safe harbour, particularly women or families with young children.
The shelter aims to receive up to 60 people; Alter Pharma partnered up with the landlord, site manager, and other tenants of the office site in Anderlecht where its headquarters are located to build the shelter. The initiative is also being supported by the Anderlecht Commune and the Embassy of Ukraine in Belgium, and is also joining forces with other private logistics partners that are offering their expertise to turn this initiative into reality.
The shelter is located in vacant office space and has 15 dorms on the upper floors and common areas on the ground floor. The common areas are equipped with rooms with computers and internet access, an office for admin support and medical assistance (first aid and medicines), a childcare area, and a canteen, where food will be brought in by volunteers and a social caterer. The shelter will serve as a temporary safe haven for the families until they have a long-term place to stay or the military offensive ends. Then as people get transferred to other locations, arrangements can be made to bring in other families.
"The war in Ukraine effects every one of us. This initiative, in which so many companies and people are involved as partners, is a wonderful example of what can be achieved through shared values and commitment, and we are delighted to support this at Riverside," said Karsten Langer, Riverside Managing Partner, Riverside Europe.