The housing shortage in the district is catastrophic, says Brigitte Fischer from Caritas.
The pandemic has exacerbated the situation.
Erding - There has been a housing shortage in the Erding district for years.
Caritas deliberately draws attention to this on Saturday's Homeless Day.
“Many believe homelessness is a marginal issue,” says Brigitte Fischer.
Since the beginning of the year, the 41-year-old social worker has held the new position to prevent homelessness: “The housing shortage in the district is catastrophic.
The rents have risen sharply. ”Corona has exacerbated the situation, adds her colleague Melanie Schmerbeck (28).
Many who worked in the thermal baths, at the airport or in restaurants before the pandemic would have lost their mini-jobs, others would have suffered severe losses due to short-time working: “The financial needs of the families can hardly be met. If there are unexpected expenses, then the rent is often juggled. ”The shame line is exceeded and those affected get help too late, says Fischer, explaining the dilemma.
Every week up to five citizens who are threatened with homelessness report to Caritas. Some have just found the termination in their mailboxes, others are about to be evicted. The earlier the social workers can act, the higher the chance of negotiating with the landlord, for example if rent debts are the reason for termination. “Our job is to avoid homelessness,” says Fischer. Together with her colleagues, she saves more than 25 households from evictions every year, helps with official applications and simply listens to those affected.
At the beginning of the corona pandemic, evictions were suspended. Not anymore, Schmerbeck knows. The fate of a recently widowed woman with three school-age children, who temporarily lived in a pension and then had to move to an emergency shelter, affects her. “The number of redundancies for personal use is increasing,” says the social worker. One reason: More students stayed at home and therefore needed their parents' apartment. Family breakups are also a trigger.
"Affordable living space is hard to find in Erding or Dorfen," says Fischer. Anyone who already has Schufa entries or is dependent on Hartz IV will fall by the wayside. Many clients who seek help from Caritas live in confined spaces in emergency shelters. There are many reasons. Fischer tells of single mothers, of mentally ill or alcoholics, and of older people for whom the pension is not enough: "Dealing with the disadvantaged is particularly problematic," says Fischer. Most of them would be housed in barracks. “That's not a nice place to live.” 37 homeless people are currently living in the emergency shelters in Erding, the city said on request. In addition, there are 28 families in the simplest apartments on Sportfeldstrasse.
Schmerbeck collected voices from those affected: “I am super grateful for the support from Caritas. I'm happy when I get out of here, find a job and have a structured daily routine, ”says one client. A woman complains about the conditions in the shelter. “It is promised that something will be done, for example the floor covering in the hallway, and then nothing will happen. But otherwise ... we get together here because we are all in the same emergency and support each other. ”Another says:“ It would be better to have more space. And that there is no rubbish lying around because we all have to pay for its disposal - no matter who it is from. "
Caritas would like therapeutic care in the emergency accommodation: “We try to cover that on the side, but we cannot offer therapies.
Many who live there have to be accompanied so that they have any chance of finding an apartment on the open market again, ”says Fischer.
In order to make its concerns public, Caritas is also represented on social media.
Schmerbeck posts interviews with employees on Facebook.
In it, Fischer explains why it is important to her that more citizens are interested in the issue of homelessness: “I want you to hear and see those affected.
Everyone has the right to an apartment.
Because this is a place of retreat, of security.
Without a home, people lose their feet. ”Success is what drives them.
"That gives you courage."
Michaele Heske