The Senate wants to create a new offer of help for addicts and homeless people at the central train station. Long-established institutions are not enthusiastic.

People suffering from addiction stand in front of the drug support room at the Drob Inn. The new offer of help should reach the gray house to the left of the tree. Photo: Photo: Christophe Gateau/dpa

HAMBURG taz | The Hamburg Senate has purchased a building in Münzviertel for 20 million euros and wants to create a wide range of help for addicts and homeless people there before the end of the year. A day stay, counseling services and an emergency shelter are planned at Repsoldstrasse 27, near the central train station.

According to its own statements, the social authority has been looking for a suitable property for a long time to “avoid further impoverishment” and provide lasting help to those affected. This should now be achieved with a low threshold offer. Low threshold means that undocumented people or those who have not yet had a withdrawal can also take advantage of the offer.

To help these people in the long term, jobs and employment opportunities will be created and a separate part of the building for women is also planned. The objective of the overnight stays is to provide a framework for consultations, especially those related to health, so that those affected can achieve lasting stability. Existing advisory systems and offerings must be integrated.

However, owners of long-established facilities around the main station have reservations about the implementation of the project.

too much atmosphere

Eva Lindemann from the Hope Places contact point in Hamburg learned about the purchase of the former office building from the press. She welcomes the Senate's decision and any offer that offers people protection, security and prospects, but also fears negative effects for her clients in the district.

Hope Places operates, among other things, the Bahnhofsmission and five other facilities in the vicinity of the main train station for people in difficult situations. These include people who have just been released from prison or have gone through drug withdrawal. They want to avoid the corresponding environment, says Lindemann.

The problem: Hope Places' “Haus Jona” subsidized housing is located on the same street as the property now purchased by the Senate. Vulnerable patients staying there would then have two places on their doorstep: the existing Drob Inn drug consumption room, a short distance away, and the new facility, where drugs can potentially be sold and consumed. This could endanger these people, warns Lindemann. They have not yet been taken into account in the concept of the city.

According to a Senate spokesperson, targeted offerings would be coordinated with existing homeless and addiction assistance providers. State advisors were also in Vienna and Zurich and exchanged technical information on the drug and addiction support landscape.

But Christine Tügel from the Youth Welfare Association, which runs the Drob Inn, also tells the taz that they are not yet included in the concept. She also cannot assess the social authority's plans at this time because she lacks concrete information.

For years there have been problems around the main train station because many people with addictions gather and spend time there. This is not only unpleasant and dangerous for many of those affected, but also places a burden on travelers and residents. Drug-related crimes are part of everyday life.

There are no concrete plans yet for the new facilities; conceptual work has only just begun. It is not yet clear which providers should do social work there or how many people can find a place there. The Senate highlights that the project is still in the early stages. It is not clear how and when cooperation with existing assistance offers can be organized.