If there were more suitable rental apartments in Hesse, then twice as many people could leave voluntary welfare institutions each year.

People who have found shelter in women's shelters or who live in drug aid facilities.

But they often stay in the facilities because they cannot find an apartment.

This is the conclusion of a study commissioned by the League of Independent Welfare Care, which examined problems for people with disabilities, addicts, the mentally ill or those released from prison under the title “Housing needs of disadvantaged groups”.

Theresa White

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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    The study was presented on Wednesday by representatives of the league, in which associations such as Caritas, Arbeiterwohlfahrt and Diakonie are organized.

    More than 300 institutions with 20,000 clients were asked to share their experiences.

    The survey is only a snapshot showing the status quo in the institutions surveyed.

    The numbers for all of Hesse are probably much higher, as the authors of the study suspect.

    Even if the results only show a sample, the figures speak for themselves: around 4,000 people leave the surveyed facilities in Hesse each year.

    3952 clients had to stay in the institutions in the past year because there are simply no apartments on the free market for them.

    Long occupancy times and too little space

    This also means that women's shelters or other auxiliary facilities have very long occupancy times and there is too little space for other people who need support.

    "People remain in a form of help that they actually no longer need - that ties up capacities that we urgently need," said Stefan Baudach from Caritas.

    In 2018, for example, only 314 rooms were available in women's shelters in Hesse, according to the findings of the study.

    This was offset by the need of thousands of women.

    2697 women were not accepted.

    The institutions also observed this problem last year.

    The women's shelters were full, as Baudach says.

    Other institutions also report similar experiences.

    For example, five percent of the residents of the inpatient care facilities surveyed could actually live independently.

    Why is it so difficult to find an apartment?

    In a short film, the league let those affected have their say;

    a woman who found shelter in a women's refuge after experiencing violence in her partnership reports there how she is “put down” at the office, how she feels as an outsider of society “because one is no longer so in the middle of life”.

    The study shows: 40 percent of residents of auxiliary facilities need more than a year to find an apartment on the open market.

    84 percent state that they cannot leave their accommodation because there is a lack of affordable housing, 80 percent say that there is a lack of small apartments.

    As obstacles they list their low income, prejudice and their personal problems that lead to discrimination.

    In the opinion of the league, the generally tense situation on the housing market has a negative impact on the weaker members of society.

    They compete with hundreds of thousands of others for the already scarce suitable living space.

    As the authors of the study found, they have particular disadvantages.

    Disabled and elderly people, for example, needed a barrier-free apartment;

    Many also receive basic security because their pension or the wages of a workshop for the disabled are insufficient - which makes them unpopular tenants.

    People who have been released from prison, take drugs or are homeless would also have a hard time: Schufa entries, breaks in biography, previous eviction suits and indebtedness deter many landlords.

    "Housing is part of the general interest"

    According to the authors of the study, young people who have to move out of a youth welfare facility at the age of 18 face different challenges.

    They have little experience, usually no parents to vouch for them.

    Usually there is also a lack of money - the rent has to be paid by the job center, which means on the one hand that the rental price must not exceed a certain rate, and on the other hand it ensures that the young people are not regarded as "full tenants" like institutions of League report.

    The league therefore calls on the country to invest in social housing.

    The public housing stock must be expanded, and there is also a need for funding programs for barrier-free apartments and housing assistance.

    "Housing is also part of the general interest," said Jörg Klärner from the league's board of directors.

    The lack of housing is the great social question of our time.