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Many immigrants from Southeast Europe have found support through the “Europe for All” project and have been able to exchange ideas with other affected people at a barbecue, for example. © Archive
A continuation of the “Europe for All” project, which has been successful in Werdohl since 2020 and promoted the integration of immigrants from Southeast Europe, remains uncertain. The state’s financial support will expire at the end of this year. One way out could be to found an association, but there isn’t enough money for that either. This became clear at the meeting of the city’s social committee.
Werdohl – Since the summer of 2020, the “Southeastern Europe Funding Program” has primarily been supporting people who have come to Werdohl from Bulgaria and Romania. But the circle of people seeking help has grown larger over time. The offers were taken up by more than 200 people from twelve countries of origin, according to a written submission to the Social Committee, which dealt with the issue on Tuesday. They received support before going to the authorities, with school matters or going to the doctor, but also when looking for work and writing applications. “On average, 25 people came for advice every week,” says the city administration. Michael Tauscher, who is responsible for integration matters at the town hall, found that the plan to help immigrants from southeastern Europe lead an independent life had been “somewhat successful.”
But that will end at the end of this year because the state’s funding will no longer be available – unless another solution can be found. The members of the social committee and also Sabine Bleckmann, head of the social affairs department at the town hall, regretted this development and certified that those responsible for the project had done a good job. There were fears of a return to old times if support were to be withdrawn.
A possible solution could be to found an association that would then act as the provider of the offers. But something like this couldn’t be accomplished without money. The city, department head Bleckmann emphasized, could not provide any support. Tauscher came to the conclusion that the future of the project was “still relatively uncertain”. “The founding of the club is still at the very beginning, the search for support has only just begun,” he said.
Another question is what will become of the items that the city purchased with funding. They must be held until mid-2025 and will then become the property of the city. This involves, for example, sports equipment for a fitness room. Bleckmann admitted that the administration had not yet given any concrete thought to what should happen to it afterwards.
So the numerous people affected who had followed the meeting ultimately went home quite unsettled. It was clear that many of them were hoping for a clear statement about the future of the funding project.
