Bremen in the cold: women on the street urgently need protection!

Bremen in the cold: women on the street urgently need protection!

Bremen, Deutschland - In Bremen, the situation of homeless women becomes increasingly dramatic. Aid organizations such as the Johanniter and the Liela Association criticize the "politics of displacement" at the main train station, where homeless people and supporters are systematically pushed back through security measures and police operations. In a network of aid organizations, initiated by Pastor Stephan Klimm from the Evangelical parish of Horn, it became clear that in particular female homeless people urgently need help in this cold period. Due to the repression, many women no longer dare to visit the new locations of the offers of help, which further exacerbates their already precarious living conditions, such as Buten reports.

displacement and loss of shelter

The Johanniter had to move their cold bus from the central lodge at the main train station to remote areas. This led to a dramatic decline in help for women - only a small number of them are achieved at the new locations. The chair of Liela, Charlotte Schmitz, points out the special risks that the homeless women suffer on the street and emphasizes that these groups are dependent on each other. "We assume that every woman who lives on the street experiences sexualized violence," she explains what illustrates the urgency of rethinking politics. The main train station, on the other hand, offered relative protection through lighting and surveillance, which is now lost, since homeless people are regarded as a security risk, as the city administration argues what We are parity documented.

aid organizations therefore require more support from the city, including enough affordable living space. "A favorable living space is perhaps the most important thing to fight homelessness," says Karin Stelljes from the Johannitern. However, the help is currently in the form of lobbying, for example to establish a shelter for housing and homeless women in the upcoming election program. According to the parties involved, the need to raise awareness of the challenges that these women face to face are of central importance. Their stories, often shaped by violence and trauma, are part of a major problem that many do not take enough in society.