Action alliance against housing shortage and urban degradation, circular 110
Drug addiction and homelessness
VISION e.V.. the Cologne association for accepting drug work, celebrated the Memorial Day for deceased female drug users for the 25th time on July 21, 2022.
“Female drug users possess a right to human dignity just like all other people. They do not have to earn it by becoming abstinent and conforming.”
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akzeptierende_Drogenarbeit
A total of 1,190 women and men died in Cologne in the past 25 years as a result of their use of illegalized substances. For us 1,190 are more than clear arguments for a change in drug policy. Female consumers must not be further criminalized and stigmatized.(Source: In the current Drogenkurier 131 on pages 14 and 15)
https://www.vision-ev.de/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Drogenkurier-131-internet-1.pdf
On 03 November 2022, the Karl Rahner Academy invited to discuss homelessness and drug addiction under the title “Masterplan against misery?”. Announced for this were Monika Kleine, SKF, Stefan Lehmann, health department, Dominik Meiering, pastor, Harald Rau, social department head.
https://www.karl-rahner-akademie.de/programm/kurs/Masterplan-gegen-die-Not/22238
Although Klaus Jünschke loudly commented on a speech by the head of social affairs, Mr. Rau, with “74 drug deaths” and Walter Schuch from the citizens’ initiative Neumarkt referred to it again, the drug deaths and the repressive drug policy were not an issue for the participants on the podium.
Instead, Mr. Rau was confronted with the lack of a toilet on Neumarkt. Helplessly, he first spoke of the lack of money, then referred to a city restroom concept in the works. Since the city was and is not even capable of renting at least one toilet container for the Neumarkt, Pastor Meiering rightly spoke of a capitulation of the city.
The main topic was the so-called master plan against homelessness in the city. This is now called less bombastically “Concepts for combating homelessness”. How with it until 2030 the homelessness in the city can be terminated, is open also after the lecture of Mr. Rau. Mr. Rau has no answer to the additional housing repeatedly demanded by the two women from SKM and SKF. The scandal that the municipal housing company GAG is not allocated any land in the new building areas by the city, which owns it, is not publicly negotiated in the city.
If there are no initiatives from the city society, as with the creation of the Mülheimer Ark with its doctor’s office, homeless drug addicts will consequently continue to be released from the correctional facility into homelessness for the unforeseeable future.
The fact that Mr. Rau himself does not rely on the concepts developed with the sponsors co-financed by the social department, he withheld from the public on this evening in the Karl Rahner Academy.
The city has commissioned the Bremer Gesellschaft für innovative Sozialforschung und Sozialplanung e.V. (Bremen Society for Innovative Social Research and Social Planning) “to record the living situations and needs of all homeless and homeless people in Cologne and thus to create a basis for target group-oriented further development of assistance.” The result of this research to support the master plan and further social planning can be available in a year at the earliest. Only then can the council and administration discuss and vote on the implementation of the results.
In the ensuing discussion, Walter Schuch of the Neumarkt Citizens’ Initiative referred to the initiative’s six years of work and how inconsequential its proposals had been. Everything has become worse, he said. When the consumption room in the health office closes at 6:30 p.m. – on Saturdays already at 2:30 p.m. and on Sundays it is even closed completely – the neighbors and the business people are left alone with the drug patients.
When there will be a consumption room open around the clock and when the drug consumption rooms in Mülheim, Kalk, Chorweiler and Kölnberg will finally be opened was not addressed on the podium. Yet only these additional consumption rooms can equalize and relieve the situation at Neumarkt.
Mr. Rau defended himself against criticism by claiming that it was not right to accuse the city of doing nothing. As someone would have claimed that.
Everywhere in the city center there are empty stores. If the city leadership had the will to get the homeless off the streets and effectively support the drug addicts, it would have the opportunity to convert some of this commercial vacancy to stays with supervision by social workers, with clean restrooms and free drinking water.
With an abstruse psychology, Mr. Rau once again blamed the homeless for their misery this evening: “Habits give us structure. Homeless people have their structure, their rituals. Why don’t we manage to get them all into the shelters? They would have to give up their rituals.” The fact that many do not go to the shelters because they have been robbed there several times does not occur to him. Likewise, there is a lack of willingness to respond to the reluctance of many homeless people to be housed in multi-bed rooms with an expanded offer of lockable single rooms.
Pastor Meiering in the conclusion discussion: “They talk themselves the things beautifully”.
There are examples for Vision e.V.’s demand for a change in drug policy: The decriminalization of drugs in Portugal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCNI4rDpBxI
The scope of the undersupply is not yet understood in its entirety
Franco Clemens on 11/2/2022 on facebook:
What is happening at the food banks is a real alarm. They can no longer distribute food to all those in need, i.e. people go hungry or steal, or become criminals or end up on the street and become neglected. The state with the honorary soup kitchens for 2 decades of its basic legal duty to secure the basic supply itself and to guarantee the subsistence level. And that is for decades accompanying the agenda 2010 and Hartz IV too low set, that said the social associations and churches again and again and confirmed experts. At the tables, however, not only the homeless, the unemployed, poverty pensioners, low-wage earners, top-up earners and single parents are now queuing up, but now also normal earners and new destitute refugees.
What do the federal, state and local governments intend to do now ? What is Cologne doing ?
History – The Housing Act to deal with the housing shortage.
The law placed all housing in the Federal Republic of Germany under compulsory management by local housing offices; publicly subsidized housing was exempt.
The housing offices were allowed to assign apartment seekers to vacant apartments, but also to apartments belonging to strangers, provided that the housing office judged them to be under-occupied (Section 10).
There was a ban on misappropriation (§ 21) and an absolute ban on the demolition of apartments (§ 22).
In the event of termination, the tenant was entitled to special enforcement protection if he could not be offered replacement housing (§§ 30-31).
The rent freeze and the ban on termination were abolished at the same time as the introduction of housing allowance as a social benefit.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wohnraumbewirtschaftungsgesetz
In Cologne 80,000 dwellings are missing. We have a housing shortage but no housing management.
For this we have since 04.03.202 the homeless reporting law (WoBerichtsG)
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/woberichtsg/BJNR043710020.html
See also:
https://www.berichterstattung-zu-wohnungslosigkeit.de/
Broadcasts, messages, news
How does NRW live?
https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video/sendungen/video-wie-wohnt-nrw–100.html
GAG increases rents by thousands at the end of the year
https://www.ksta.de/koeln/koelner-wohnungsmarkt-gag-erhoeht-zum-jahreswechsel-tausende-mieten-40005324
Rent freeze in Berlin
https://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article236714063/Ein-Jahr-Mietenstopp-fuer-340-000-Berliner-Haushalte.html
Hamburg: 100-year commitment for social housing
https://mhmhamburg.de/blog/news/keine-profite-mit-boden-und-miete-einigung-mit-hamburger-senat
More and more homeless people in London
https://www.gmx.net/magazine/politik/obdachlose-london-buergermeister-warnt-teufelskreis-37430304
The work of the blockade FDP: Party of the landlords
Whenever it comes to tenant protection, the liberals have reservations, smell too much bureaucracy or play for time. A small overview.
https://taz.de/Das-Wirken-der-Blockade-FDP/!5891281/
Deplorable condition in emergency accommodation for homeless people in Rotenburg
https://www.mdr.de/brisant/obdachlos-notunterkunft-rotenburg-100.html
Coalition presents plans for Housing Benefit Plus and a second heating cost subsidy
https://www.das-parlament.de/2022/42/wirtschaft_und_finanzen/916164-916164
City of Cologne to build 16 social housing units
Dates
05.11.2022, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., Rally against vacancies: “Apartments for homeless and refugees”, corner of Berrenrather Str. / Friedrich Engels Straße.
7.11.2022, 7 pm, Right to the City. Open meeting. Old fire station
7.11.2022, 8pm, online. The Habitology Network invites to “Living without Housing – Special Forms of Housing between Pathologization and Empowerment.” https://tuwien.zoom.us/j/96607207762?pwd=SWFiNzR4cERuZUJ5bkNGbytNR3V4Zz09#success
11/08/2022, evening, What does the city have to do with patriarchy? Ebert-Platz-Passagen, The city guide enlightens. https://diestadtfuehrerin.com/
11/10/2022, 9 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Cologne City Council.
10.11.2022, 6 p.m. rally at Otto-Platz
https://koeln-bonn.dgb.de/themen/++co++b57518f6-47cb-11ed-baf8-001a4a160123
10.11.2022, 19: 30 clock, 30 years of Arsch Huh in the arena, 5 euros tickets in all advance booking offices. No box office
17.11.2022, 15:30 Social Committee
20.11.2022, from 12:00 to 15:00, 5th StadtraumSpaziergang – “aus ALT mach NEU” in Köln Müngersdorf, event by Stadtraum 5 und 4 e.V., meeting point: Friedhof Müngersdorf, Kirchhof 4, 50993 Köln
30.11.2022, 7 pm, Prison instead of fine? Karl Rahner Academy, Jabachstr.3
https://www.karl-rahner-akademie.de/programm/kurs/Gefaengnis-statt-Geldstrafe/22259#inhalt
For a city without homelessness
For a city without evictions
For a city without drug deaths
For a city without violence against women and children
For a city without deportations
For a city without poverty
05 November 2022
Klaus Jünschke and Rainer Kippe
PS
Call for donations
To further improve our public relations we need money:
Donation account MachMit! e.V. IBAN: DE53370501981011342704
Intended purpose: Aktionsbündnis
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