SkF project Housing First for women reaches milestone: 100 tenancy agreements successfully brokered
Berlin, June 13, 2024 : Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen e. V. Berlin (SkF Berlin) is celebrating a major success with its Housing First for Women (HFF) project in the fight against homelessness among women. This week, the 100th tenancy agreement was successfully brokered to a homeless woman. A housing stability rate of over 96% underlines the Housing First approach as an effective and therefore important building block in Berlin’s homelessness assistance.
Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin: “I congratulate Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen on the 100th rental contract for the Housing First project for women. The support of homeless women and their children in Berlin is of great importance, because having their own apartment is the beginning of being able to build a new life again. As a Housing First initiative exclusively for women, the project has set standards in social work throughout Europe. Once again, the 100th rental contract shows how well-founded the award of the Louise Schroeder Medal of the Berlin House of Representatives in 2023 was for this work.”
Since its launch in October 2018, HFF has given women the much-needed stability and protection of a secure apartment with their own permanent tenancy agreement. The comprehensive HFF approach, implemented by a multi-professional team, is more than just acquiring accommodation: it includes psychological counseling, social work, support with moving in by a tradeswoman and a mediator between tenants and landlords in the event of difficulties. All this contributes to the greatest possible reliability for everyone involved. Voluntary use of the service means a new and important experience for many participants in the project: there is a network that supports them unconditionally.
A remarkable success marker of the project is the housing stability of 96%. This means that almost all of the women who received support from HFF were able to remain in their homes in the long term. At the same time, this is a sign that HFF brings about lasting changes in the lives of those affected.
“We are incredibly proud that we have already been able to help 100 women to escape homelessness and lead independent lives with HFF. This milestone is a sign of hope for all women still living on the streets. We will continue to work to help women find a safe home,” says Christin Weyershausen, Team Leader HFF.
HFF and SkF Berlin would like to thank everyone involved, especially the partners from the housing industry who continuously support this important project with housing. We would also like to thank the ÜPFI (Überparteiliche Fraueninitiative), the Senate Department for Labor, Social Affairs, Equality, Integration, Diversity & Anti-Discrimination for their effective cooperation and funding, as well as all other supporters who are committed to Housing First.
Cansel Kiziltepe, Senator for Social Affairs, said: “Life on the streets is hard, but it is even harder for homeless women. They often experience sexualized violence or have to enter into forced relationships to protect themselves from violence. This makes it all the more important that Housing First for Women exclusively looks after homeless women. The 100th tenancy agreement is a visible and great success that the staff at Sozialdienst Katholischer Frauen have been able to achieve. I would like to express my sincere thanks for this dedicated work! The Housing First principle is a successful way of getting homeless people off the streets permanently – with no ifs or buts. With the former model project of the Senate Social Welfare Administration, we are now taking a further step to turn Housing First from a pilot project into the guiding principle of homelessness assistance in the state of Berlin – equipped with the necessary funding and experienced staff in the projects. I hope that there will now also be many landlords who will participate in Housing First and make apartments available, because the waiting lists are long. Our long-term goal is to transfer Housing First to the regular system.”
About HFF:
Since the end of 2018,Housing First for Women has taken a new approach to homeless women with multiple problems. In August 2023, the project run by Sozialdienst Katholischer Frauen e.V. Berlin was awarded the Louise Schroeder Medal. The aim of Housing First for Women is to end women’s homelessness by renting an apartment with their own tenancy agreement and thus regain a dignified, self-determined life. Since 2018, the project has already placed 100 apartments with homeless women, 12 of which went to women with children. The women’s living situation has improved in many ways, particularly in the areas of health, satisfaction and social life. Housing stability is very high. In addition, the provision of a home of their own offers protection from violence, to which homeless women are particularly exposed.
Press contacts
Sozialdienst katholischer Frauen e.V. Berlin
Martina Serwene
Mobile 0151 150 436 90
Housing First for women Berlin
Esther-Maria Köb-Koutsamanis
030 477 532 626
