Location found for women's shelter in Offenbach

Due to the tense situation caused by rising prices in the construction industry and the high demand for apartments in metropolitan areas, the search for a suitable property or plot of land proved difficult. The special requirements and needs of a shelter also presented particular challenges. "We are delighted that we have now found a suitable property for a new women's and children's shelter," says City Treasurer and Head of Social Affairs Martin Wilhelm. "The city has a clear mandate, which we are pursuing with great commitment."

The Istanbul Convention recommends providing a sufficient number of shelters. "For Offenbach, this means an additional requirement of at least two family rooms. This cannot be realized in the existing property of the Frauen helfen Frauen association. In 2021, the Offenbach Women's Office, together with the working group against domestic and sexualized violence, presented an inventory and needs analysis for the implementation of the Istanbul Convention, in which the additional need for shelters was confirmed," says Dr. Inga Halwachs, Municipal Women's and Equal Opportunities Officer.

A new women's and children's shelter is therefore planned, which takes into account the additional need and is barrier-free or low-barrier. An emergency room for a woman with up to three children is also planned, so that (separate) short-term emergency accommodation for women affected by violence and their children is possible even when the building is fully occupied.

The acquired property will be deposited with GBO Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft mbH Offenbach. The municipal subsidiary of the Stadtwerke Offenbach Group is implementing all necessary measures so that the sponsor of the Offenbach women's and children's shelter "Frauen helfen Frauen e.V." will have better conditions for accommodating and supporting those in need of protection in future.

The aim was to increase the space and accommodation capacity of the current women's and children's shelter. The demand for places in women's shelters remains very high. This is also confirmed by the Hessian website for women's shelters, which often only shows a few vacancies per day in Hesse.

On some days, there is not a single free place in a women's shelter in the whole of Hesse. "As soon as we publish a free place in the women's and children's shelter on the website, the phone rings off the hook and the place is taken again within a short space of time," says Laura Dinger from the Offenbach women's and children's shelter. The high demand for shelters for women affected by gender-specific violence is also clear from the rising Offenbach figures in the police crime statistics. In addition to the Hellfeld data, a high number of unreported cases can be assumed.

The employees of the association "Frauen helfen Frauen e.V.", which runs the women's and children's shelter as well as a counseling and intervention center for women, are also delighted to have reached this milestone. "As expected, the search for a suitable property was not so easy," Laura Dinger continues. "We are all the more pleased that a new location has been found. The decision for or against a property was made in close consultation between the association and the town. We were able to take the special requirements for a women's and children's home into consideration together."

Everyone involved is happy and relieved about this big step towards the goal. In order not to jeopardize the security of the project, there will be no information about the location or site. "Any detail could be one piece of information too many and jeopardize anonymity," explains Martin Wilhelm. "Despite our delight at this initial success, it is important to us that the women and their children are housed safely now and in the future and are provided with good conditions in a protective atmosphere."