No way out of the women's shelter: residents have been looking for their own apartment for years

From the women's shelter to your own four walls: This step is extremely difficult for many housemates. The search for a place to stay in the district is almost hopeless.

• Many residents of the women's shelter dream of having their own four walls.
• But the search for an apartment turns out to be almost hopeless for most.
• The women are usually reliable and long-term tenants

Bad Tölz- Wolfratshausen - The women's refuge as a place of refuge: After years of torture by a violent husband, the residents - mostly together with their children - long for a life of safety and independence in their own apartment. The search for a place to stay is almost hopeless. This is shown by the fate of two women who have lived in the accommodation for years.

In a night and fog action, Mariem S. (name changed) left her beating husband together with her three children. She found shelter in the women's shelter run by the Women Helping Women Association. The mother hoped that she could quickly build a new life for herself. Nothing came of it. The Muslim woman has been living in the emergency shelter for three years now because she has no chance on the rental market.

Women's shelter: Finding a place to stay is almost hopeless

Finding an apartment is particularly difficult for the residents of the house. because the job center has clear rules: Mariem S., for example, is only allowed to move into an apartment with her three children that is no more than 90 square meters and costs a maximum of 790 euros. This is utopian on the local housing market. “There are no offers that are so cheap,” complains the mother of three. She "would even take a small two-room apartment" because the children from the women's shelter are used to sharing a room anyway.

“It would be different in your own apartment because you would have more freedom.” You could invite friends to your home again, which is strictly forbidden in the women's refuge. “This situation is very difficult for the children,” says Mariem S .. She speaks these sentences in German, but has a noticeably difficult time with the language. “Landlords often see it as a problem that I don't speak perfect German.” Her origins from the Middle East and the headscarf she wears are also obstacles. That she gets her money from the employment office, anyway.

The women from our house are usually absolutely reliable and long-term tenants.

For Nicoline Pfeiffer, founder of the association that runs the women's shelter, this is difficult to understand. “Nobody pays as securely as the office,” she says. She is certain: "The women from our house are usually absolutely reliable and long-term tenants." After the experiences in a violent relationship and the hustle and bustle that is associated with moving to the women's shelter, the residents are very careful to have a quiet, to lead an inconspicuous life. Pfeiffer emphasizes that the facility is not intended as a long-term residence: "The house is designed for a few months."

For almost two years now, Fatima T. (name changed) has been longing for her own four walls. She lives with her four children in two rooms in the women's shelter. “Before we moved, we lived in a house with five rooms,” she looks back. Not all four children could stand the cramped conditions in the women's shelter. "My oldest son moved back to his father," says Fatima T. - knowing that his father beat and oppressed his mother for years. Since her flight to the women's shelter, Fatima T. has been keeping an eye on the housing market. “It's incredibly difficult,” she says. In recent years she only found three apartments that met the requirements of the authorities. She never received an acceptance.

Resident does not want to tear children out of their familiar surroundings

Perhaps, as the woman in her mid-forties thinks, the search would be easier if she did not look in the Munich area with the enormous pressure of settlement. An apartment far away is out of the question for Fatima T.: "I tore my children out of their familiar surroundings two years ago," she says. Her hometown is more than 100 kilometers away. It's a safe distance from my father. "They have settled in here, go to school, have made friends and feel good."

The Syrian woman does not want to imagine how her children would react to having to leave their homeland again. That is why it continues to scour the hopelessly overloaded rental market. Until she finds what she is looking for, her family stays in the women's shelter. “We are safe here,” says the mother, who appreciates the help and care of the association.

As reported, he launched a model project to help the residents of the women's refuge to gain a foothold in the housing market more quickly. A specially hired employee maintains contact with authorities, landlords and women in order to facilitate the search for an apartment. After moving house, the association keeps in touch with the women to help them take their first steps in an independent life. Fatima T. and Mariem S. should finally find their own domicile through the care.

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