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Looking for new accommodations, apartments and staff
The current events in war and crisis areas such as Afghanistan, Syria, Libya or the conflicts on the border between Belarus and Poland with thousands of refugees also have an impact on the Offenbach district. The number of refugees assigned by the Darmstadt Regional Council is increasing again. The state of Hesse has announced that soon 650 refugees will be distributed to the districts and urban districts per week.
In the Offenbach district, an average of four to seven refugees per week arrived at the district building in Dietzenbach this year. But since the beginning of October this number has more than doubled. “It will continue to rise. The development shows that the Offenbach district will soon have to accept 30 to 35 people per week ”, so the prognosis of the district councilor Carsten Müller. After arriving and registering in the district building, the refugees are housed in the district’s communal accommodation and distributed among the 13 municipalities.
Global hot spots of conflict with violence, persecution, political instability and economic hardship are the main causes of displacement and migration. According to the UN Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 82 million people are currently more than ever on the run. The Offenbach district took in around 160 refugees in 2011, in 2014 there were already 850 and in the two years 2015 and 2016 2,000 people arrived. Then the curve in the statistics fell again to 340 refugees four years ago and around 220 in 2020. “This year, with around 500 asylum seekers, we are expecting more than twice as many people as in 2020,” says Carsten Müller. In addition, there are so-called local workers from Afghanistan and some ethnic German repatriates.
The head of social affairs sees the Offenbach district as well prepared for the increase in the number of refugees, but still wants to expand the accommodation options. “Since we needed less capacity, we reduced the number of communal accommodations after 2016 from 20 to 16 today for cost reasons. With currently around 850 occupied spaces, we have almost reached our limit, which is why new communal accommodation must be created again. We are looking for suitable real estate, ”said the district official.
After 2016, the municipalities regularly reported their vacancies in the apartments and accommodation to the district, so that refugees were allocated to them in consultation. If the district’s reception capacities are exhausted, as in 2015 and 2016, the district will directly assign asylum seekers to the municipalities again. A corresponding decision by the district committee for this special regulation is in preparation.
In order to increase the capacities in the communal accommodation, asylum seekers who receive financial support according to Social Security Code II and no longer have to live in large accommodation should move into apartments. However, the search is made more difficult by the great demand for living space and increased rental prices. Anyone who would like to make an apartment available to the district can contact the telephone numbers 06074 8081-2123 or -2172 or send an email to [email protected] or [email protected].
As part of the preparation for the growing number of refugees, Social Affairs Director Carsten Müller also wants to expand the care offers for asylum seekers, especially for families. The number of posts for social workers will be increased. For years, many volunteers in the refugee aid groups in the cities and communities have ensured a warm welcome culture and made a valuable contribution to integration. They are also increasingly in demand when more people arrive and need orientation.
“In addition to combating the pandemic, taking in refugees is a social challenge that affects everyone and can be successfully mastered if local administrations and the citizens work together,” says district councilor Carsten Müller.
(Text: Offenbach district)
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