Vienna’s aid for the homeless gets people off the street

Among the responsibilities of Fonds Soziales Wien (FSW, Vienna Social Fund) is advice, counselling and the provision of accommodation for homeless persons. The primary aim is to reintegrate the homeless in society by helping to stabilise their social and health situation so as to enable them to obtain housing of their own.

As part of its aid for the homeless (Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe), FSW cooperates with 19 sponsoring organisations and subsidises their services. Homeless persons in Vienna are provided aid in the form of advice centres, day centres, overnight shelters and temporary housing. Kurt Gutleder, head of Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe, talks about the situation and services in Vienna and describes his experience working with the homeless.

wieninternational: What services are offered by Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe and what organisations does it cooperate with?
Kurt Gutlederer: Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe has four thrusts. Ambulant care is offered in advice or day centres. These are the first points of contact, providing information about the services offered and arranging overnight accommodation in some cases. One of these centres is at Pazmanitengasse 7 – P7 for short – which is run by Caritas. The second thrust is overnight accommodation, such as the house in Gänsbachergasse for women and the adjacent Hermes house for men. The other thrusts are the provision of temporary and supervised housing.





wieninternational: Are there differences between the facilities offered by the various organisations?
Kurt Gutlederer: A fundamental distinction can be drawn between those facilities that are subsidised by the City of Vienna and those, such as VinziRast or VinziBett, which are run by Vinzenzgemeinschaft St. Stephan, that are not. These private organisations can set their own standards, whereas subsidised projects are subject to certain conditions, such as the space available and the minimum number of counsellors. The various organisations meet regularly to coordinate their activities. In addition, the main aim of the facilities subsidised by Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe is social reintegration. Some private organisations merely offer temporary accommodation and care in day centres or overnight shelters.

wieninternational: What is the primary aim of Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe and how successful is it?
Kurt Gutlederer: Our aim is to make homeless persons self-sufficient again. This idea of reintegrating people was formulated 20 years ago and we are therefore also celebrating the 20th anniversary of Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe this year. Prior to that time, our initial idea was to provide temporary aid. The overnight shelter at Gänsbachergasse 7 was a milestone, employing counsellors rather than “supervisors” for the first time.
As far as the success is concerned, Wiener Wohnungslosenhilfe has an outstanding rate of reintegration and around one third of the homeless persons in temporary accommodation manage to regain their independence.

wieninternational: Are there enough counselling centres, overnight shelters and temporary accommodation in Vienna or would you like to see more?
Kurt Gutlederer: Basically, you can never have enough. On average, our facilities are 96 per cent full and some of them have waiting lists. We have 780 places in supervised apartments and aim to pass the 1,000 mark by 2010 through the addition of 350 new places in four facilities. This will help to relieve the entire system. We also look after 4,800 people per year in temporary facilities with 3,700 accommodation units.

wieninternational: What is supervised accommodation exactly?
Kurt Gutlederer: The inhabitants of supervised apartments are unable to function independently, be it because of age or illness. For these people we offer permanent accommodation in small supervised apartment units.

wieninternational: What kind of difficulties and prejudices do you encounter when setting up accommodation for the homeless?
Kurt Gutlederer: The local inhabitants are often a bit wary at first. Many people have a narrow view of the homeless, but the reality is much more diverse. These preconceived ideas tend to be formed on account of people who draw attention to themselves. Many homeless persons have had a very difficult life and live quietly in the supervised facilities. As soon as people realise that they have nothing to fear, the prejudices also disappear.

wieninternational: What are the main causes of homelessness in Vienna?
Kurt Gutlederer: My earlier experience in preventing evictions has made me realise that it can happen to anyone. The employer can go bankrupt, and illness, separation or other aggravating circumstances such as drug abuse can lead to homelessness.

wieninternational: Are you moved personally by the fate of any of the individuals you encounter?
Kurt Gutlederer: Sometimes entire families are confronted by homelessness when their economic circumstances take a tumble. Fortunately, it is usually possible to provide assistance fairly rapidly in such cases. In contrast to home facilities, wieder wohnen GmbH provides supervised accommodation for families all over Vienna. These “pool” apartments are in public housing facilities. The inhabitants are supervised for a time and can then remain there when they become self-sufficient again.




wieninternational: How motivated are the people concerned to return to a normal life?
Kurt Gutlederer: For these people, “normal life” is something different. For many homeless persons, for example, alcohol consumption is “normal” and for this reason alcohol has been allowed in some facilities for around 15 years now. This has proved highly effective: before this, many people preferred to remain on the streets because they were unable to survive without alcohol. Some people come of their own accord because they want to stop drinking. There are also centres, of course, with strict prohibitions, which makes it easier for those in withdrawal. The motivation varies from person to person.

wieninternational: What is the proportion of men and women and what differences are there in the counselling offered?
Kurt Gutlederer: A third of the homeless in Vienna are women. The numbers tend to vary from one facility to another and there are also facilities for women only. The approach to women is, of course, a different one. It is not as easy to accommodate them in shared rooms and many prefer separate apartments because “home-making” is more important to them than it is to men.



wieninternational: What kind of medical care do homeless persons in Vienna receive?
Kurt Gutlederer: The NeunerHAUSARZT (NeunerHaus is a temporary residence for men) also provides medical care for the homeless in other centres. NeunerHaus has also recently started to provide dental care, for which there is a considerable need. The Caritas Louise Bus is a mobile doctor’s office, offering medical care at different locations. Apart from separate health counselling centres for men and women, the Psychiatric Liaison Service offers psychological counselling for the homeless. Medical care for the homeless is important as they are often turned away by normal doctor’s offices or require special treatment.

wieninternational: Is it possible as an individual to help the homeless, and is this recommended?
Kurt Gutlederer: I personally believe that the facilities for the homeless in Vienna are so extensive that there is no need for them to seek alms. The aid for the homeless does not dispense charity but rather provides professional assistance.

wieninternational: New ideas are being mooted as to what to do with surplus food. What do you think of facilities like Wiener Tafel (volunteers deliver surplus food from shops to charitable institutions every day – eds.) or the “Sozialmarkt” (social market) system?
Kurt Gutlederer: These are necessary evils. I would prefer it if everyone could afford to pay for what they need and that no one was reliant on the Wiener Tafel or Sozialmarkt system.

See also “Social markets: selling surplus instead of throwing away”