Corona restrictions in the Nuremberg warming room: "Hard situation" for the homeless

Created: 01/08/2022, 09:18 AM

From: Verena Möckl

In the Nuremberg warming parlor, stricter rules for the homeless currently apply.

(Symbol picture) © Daniel Naupold / picture alliance / dpa

A warm meal, a hot shower, a room to linger: the warming room in Nuremberg supplies the homeless in the Corona winter.

But now there are restrictions.

Nuremberg - The warming room in Nuremberg * is one of the last places to go for those without a residence in the Corona winter.

There homeless people can warm up in the cold season - with a hot shower or with a warm meal.

But there are now stricter rules in the charitable institution.

The stay for visitors is limited in time.

They are currently only allowed to have one meal and warm up briefly, then have to leave.

"It is a very tough situation because the facility actually has the meaning that people can stay here all day," says facility manager Manuela Bauer to the

.

Nuremberg: Hard times for the homeless - stricter corona rules in the warming room

But this regulation is necessary in order to be able to provide all homeless people with a meal.

The homeless have come to terms with the restriction, says Bauer.

Many of the needy are still frustrated.

The Corona * pandemic hits people without a permanent address particularly hard.

You can't just stay home to protect yourself from the virus and the cold.

Often the contacts that homeless people make in the warming room or on the street are their only contacts.

“You can't distance yourself from that,” says Bauer.

 We have a vaccination rate of around 75 percent.

Manager of the Nuremberg warming room Manuela Bauer

Before the pandemic, the warming room served more than 200 meals a day to those in need.

But at the moment a maximum of 15 people are allowed to stay in the homeless facility at the same time.

Access is only allowed to vaccinated, convalescent and tested people.

Most of the visitors to the warming room have been vaccinated, Bauer tells the

"We have a vaccination rate of around 75 percent."

Opening times of the warming room in Nuremberg

Monday to Thursday, Saturday and Sunday (and public holidays): 9.30 a.m. to 12.45 p.m. and 1.15 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.

Friday closed

Corona pandemic: Great burden for the homeless

For the homeless, the strict rules currently in force are a great burden, says Bauer.

It is important for them to pay attention to people in need, especially during the corona pandemic.

One should not “walk past someone carelessly”, but at least see “whether the person actually needs something, in need or whether he is voluntarily in the situation”.

The “Housing first” project in the Franconian metropolis of Nuremberg helps the homeless in a special way. Not only those looking for accommodation benefit from this concept, but also the state and local authorities.

2000 homeless people in Nuremberg - the warming room is an important point of contact

According to official information, 2000 people in Nuremberg are affected by homelessness.

Around 300 homeless people regularly visit the warming room.

There you get more than just a warm soup: a hot shower and a cup of coffee in the morning, a warm meal in the evening.

advisory

All homeless people and people at risk of homelessness can turn to the employees of the warming room for advice.

The open consultation takes place in the mornings every day.

A consultation in the afternoon is also possible by arrangement.

The warming room is therefore an important point of contact for the homeless.

“I don't know anything else in Nuremberg,” said a visitor to the

"I have no idea where else to go."

A year ago in Nuremberg, a 20-year-old homeless woman gave birth to a child outdoors at minus 15 degrees.

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