Representatives of the women’s and children’s home in Uelzen made it clear to the Hanseatic city’s social committee that the facility is facing major challenges in terms of space, finances and content.
Uelzen/district – The Uelzen women’s and children’s home is facing major challenges in terms of space, finances, but above all in terms of its work in terms of protection and advice in the event of domestic and sexualised violence. This was made clear by Monne Kühn from the board of the sponsoring association and long-time employee Britta Hönig in a joint presentation in the Hanseatic city’s social committee.
“In the short to medium term, the spatial situation will become relevant for us. We may then have to rent additional rooms, although the new owner of the house has relatively high rent demands. We are currently in negotiations. If we cannot expand at the location, we would have to look for something new. But if we can rent, then we will approach you as a politician and explain the measures,” said Monne Kühn.
The city and district pay for this in grants
She pointed out that the sponsoring association “had not applied for an increase in grants from the Hanseatic city and district for at least ten years”. “But I fear that we will get there and need more money. We find that the amount we get is very low,” says Kühn.
She put the grant from the city at just over 23,000 euros plus 4,300 euros from the Brasche Lehen Foundation. The district pays 18,400 euros per year and is therefore “very covered”. Additional money comes from the state of Lower Saxony.
No separate rooms for each woman
In the new directive, this stipulates that every woman who seeks and makes use of help should be assigned a room of her own and, if necessary, her children. “But we are a small house with ten places as well as emergency beds and children’s beds that only have shared rooms. It happens that a woman has to be housed with another woman she doesn’t know. That has advantages, but also disadvantages,” explained Britta Hönig, why the spatial situation has to change promptly.
The Women’s and Children’s Home Uelzen – one of 43 facilities of this type in Lower Saxony – looks back on its 40th anniversary in 2024. The employees offer women and girls affected by violence not only initial care and accommodation in a protected room, but also help with visits to the authorities and with appointments in court or with lawyers.
Annual occupancy is 80 percent
The occupancy of the house over the year is around 80 percent. On average, 425 counseling sessions for women take place each year, primarily via the counseling center. “Overall, there’s a lot of fluctuation here: Sometimes the house is packed, but then there are fewer women,” explained Monne Kühn.
Britta Hönig added that the women and girls seeking protection came from the Uelzen district, but also from cities further away or other federal states. “When we’re full, we move on to other houses.” The aim is to maintain or rebuild independence for the women and girls without the potential for violence.
2023-05-05 09:15:07
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