“Housing First for Women” has already arranged over 100 tenancy agreements

Michael Vogt / September 04, 2024

In the fight against homelessness specific to women, the Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen Berlin (SkF) recently celebrated a major success with its “Housing First for Women” (HFF) project, namely the placement of the 100th woman. rental agreement since the start in 2018.

“We have already brokered 106 rental agreements,” explains Esther Köb-Koutsamanis. The Austrian, who has been responsible for public relations and housing acquisition in the HFF project team since February 2022, recalls: “Initially, the work was a challenge for me, if only because the Berlin housing market is known to be very tight. But we have now arrived on the real estate market, have made many contacts and have been able to gain several good cooperation partners for our project.”

The “Housing First” concept originally comes from the USA and is based on the idea that homeless people must first and foremost be given their own home again – as a prerequisite for all further steps back into life. According to Köb-Koutsamanis, this would also break the revolving door effect, which sooner or later brings homeless people from emergency shelters or hospitals back onto the streets.

Esther Köb-Koutsamanis is also responsible for acquiring accommodation for the HFF project. Photo: Sarah Mistura | uploaded by Michael Vogt

The HFF project’s focus specifically on homeless women complements half a dozen similar projects aimed at homeless men, children and young people or refugees. A key aim of the project is to offer women with or without children the much-needed stability and protection of a secure apartment with their own permanent tenancy agreement. This is implemented by a team of ten people who take care of housing acquisition, psychological counseling, social work, support with moving in and communication between tenants and landlords. “We have an administrative employee, several social workers, a psychologist and a craftswoman on the team,” explains Esther Köb-Koutsamanis. “The latter takes care of everything to do with moving in and out, for example, as well as repairs in the apartments.”

However, the team’s success in brokering apartments in such a difficult market could not be taken for granted. “Initially, the cooperation with Aachener Siedlungs- und Wohnungsgesellschaft opened the doors for us,” says Esther Köb-Koutsamanis. Word then got around about the reliable cooperation, good experiences with the tenants and the successful handling of all rental processes up to the contract. In addition, a rate of 96 percent residential stability proves that the vast majority of women stay in their homes. “And so we quickly came into contact with Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen as well as other smaller property management companies and private homeowners who wanted to support the idea and the concept,” says Esther Köb-Koutsamanis. Many homeless women in emergency shelters and social support centers are now aware that the HFF project offers them a real chance of returning to their own homes. The waiting list is currently correspondingly long. It currently comprises around 200 single women and around 110 mothers with children.

The now award-winning project is funded by the Senate Department for Labor, Social Affairs, Equality, Integration, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination. Nevertheless, further voluntary help is needed, for example in the area of crafts, and donations in kind for moving in – for example furniture and other furnishings – are always welcome. Anyone wishing to make a donation or get involved in the project can find detailed information on the Internet at https://skf-berlin.de/offene-sozialarbeit/wohnungslose-frauen/housing-first-fuer-frauen/.

Direct contact: Mondays to Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Müllerstraße 126 in Wedding or Großbeerenstraße 17a in Kreuzberg. Further information is also available on Tel. 477 53 26 26.

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Click here for the article in Berliner Woche