The project, which is being implemented by Jugend am Werk, is aimed at homeless women, i.e. women who are homeless or in a women’s dormitory. There are many reasons women lose their homes – the most common are separation or divorce and job loss; some women leave home because they have experienced intimate partner violence.
Already 39 women and 20 children helped
A study by the “Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft Wohnungslosenhilfe” found that around 700 women are homeless or homeless in Graz – this is exactly where the “Housing First” project helps, says its team leader Andrea Knafl: “It is very important that it is about inclusion, and that women who were on the fringes of society are integrated into society and that they can live like any other person – without any conditions. “
The Graz project was launched in December 2013 because the women’s dormitories in Graz were overcrowded. In the meantime, 39 women and 20 children have been accompanied to their own apartments, says Andrea Knafl. This affects both academics and women with a migration background.
Different care offers
The search is on the normal real estate market, the “Housing First” team helps: “In the first step, we do a clearing where we look at what is the woman’s personal situation, what is the wish, how would she like to live, what is financially possible, where can you still get financial support opportunities? “
Because the women must be able to finance the rent themselves through social benefits or an income.
Debt counseling or psychological help are also offered – the women can – but do not have to – accept the care offer.
Concept from New York
The aim is that they find their way into an independent life – “which is very often the case again when women live, family contacts can be rebuilt and acquaintances and friendships revive”.
That is not so easy in other facilities, such as women’s dormitories. “Housing First” was developed in the New York homeless welfare organization in the early 1990s and is implemented in many countries, such as Germany, Finland, Great Britain, France and Austria.
–
