New report on the work of the neighborhood management shows the diversity in the city

Offenbach City Council has published a new annual report on the work of the neighborhood management teams in Offenbach. It documents the activities in the four urban areas of Lauterborn, Mathildenviertel, Nordend and Südliche Innenstadt/Senefelderquartier in 2023. It was compiled by the Social Planning Department in the Social Welfare Office, which is responsible for coordinating and supervising the activities of the neighbourhood management teams within the city administration.

The current report shows the diversity of the work carried out by Offenbach's neighborhood management teams. There are advisory services, seminars, language courses, cultural and art events, readings, festivals, round tables, participatory activities and much more. Each supervised area has a slightly different range of offers and, all in all, there is a wide range of topics and event formats. Thanks to coordinated communication, it is possible to learn from each other, constantly develop the quality of the offers and adapt them to the constantly changing framework conditions.

These are characterized above all by the different population sizes and structures in the areas served, each with different growth opportunities and scope for urban development. Making contact with the population under these conditions and, in a second step, arousing their interest in participating requires a great deal of sensitivity and perseverance. After all, Offenbach is a city with a lot of movement in its residential and working population: more people move to Offenbach to live than away from Offenbach (migration gain). And almost three quarters of all Offenbach employees subject to social insurance contributions commute to work outside Offenbach. It is therefore important to keep pace with the numerous movements and the resulting changes in people's needs and opportunities to arrive in their own district.

Head of Social Affairs Wilhelm therefore praises the work of the neighborhood management offices: "The opportunity to speak to a neighborhood management office in person from Monday to Friday at short notice and without an appointment is an important part of our aim to provide a low-threshold service in the districts. This sets us apart from many other district offices in other cities in the region. We want people to only have to walk a few meters from their home to the nearest district office to find someone who can help them. This could be, for example, the search for a specific offer of help, information about perceived problems in the district or the offer to get involved and thus become an active part of society."