Integration House Vienna
| Integration House Vienna | |
|---|---|
| legal form | society |
| founding | 1994 |
| Seat | Vienna , Austria |
| main emphasis | Refugee aid , social work |
| Action space | Vienna |
| Volunteers | 140 |
| Website | www.integrationshaus.at |
The integration Wien is a project of aid to refugees , is located in Vienna's 2nd district, Leopoldstadt , there is a house since 1995 and offers a comprehensive range for refugees , asylum seekers and migrants . It is an internationally recognized competence center for the reception and integration of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants. Integrationshaus offers protection, security and helps to find future prospects. The needs of people with an increased need for care, such as traumatized people, single parents, the sick and unaccompanied minor refugees, are particularly taken into account. The integration house is supposed to represent a counterpoint to exclusion and racism. According to its own information, it stands for refugee protection, multilingualism, diversity and equal opportunities.
Andrea Eraslan-Weninger has been the managing director of the association since 1994 .
history
In June 1995 the first residents, mostly refugees from Bosnia , moved into the integration house. The first team at Integrationshaus consisted of 13 employees and at the time looked after around 110 residents. At the same time, intensive support and advice began, both with regard to mental health and opportunities on the job market, as well as with gender-specific offers for women and specific projects for children, as well as the training of volunteer employees. In September a multilingual kindergarten and afternoon care for the school children of the housing project was opened. At the end of 1995 the Gute Zeitung appeared for the first time - the tabloid for a good cause .
Language acquisition and training quickly became the focus of the club's efforts. Both offers were always available to all refugees, not just to the residents of the integration house. In 1996, the Hemayat and Family and Advice associations moved into the Integrationshaus. In 1998, the establishment of an Austria-wide care network for unaccompanied minor refugees began , the EU project bilingual teaching in preschool age was started, a European symposium was held and video documentation was created together with the ORF minority editorial team.
In 2001, with the help of the European Refugee Fund, it was possible to set up crisis accommodation for 25 unaccompanied minor refugees, which in 2004 was converted into permanent accommodation. The minors could now also be offered literacy courses, language courses and preparatory courses for the secondary school leaving certificate. Starting in 2004, the association was increasingly able to get involved in European projects and gain funding from the European Social Fund , in particular from the EQUAL and EQUAL II projects, later from the DYNAMO project. In June 2005, the Integrationshaus's advice center for asylum seekers and refugees in basic care was opened in Klosterneuburger Strasse in the 20th district, and later moved to Schweidlgasse in the 2nd district. In the same year the integration house was completely renovated, equipped with a new facade, new windows and new heating.
Integrationshaus has been offering qualified independent legal advice on asylum procedures since 2006. In September 2006, the first education fair on the topic of "Multilingualism and educational potential" was held and made diversity visible as a resource. To mark the 15th anniversary in 2010, a birthday party was organized in the coach house, conducted a lecture and series of events, the book Cosmopolitan Impulse - The House of Integration in Vienna presented the campaign We campaign launched and a rally with more than 5,000 participants carried out.
present
Today the Integrationshaus is a competence center for the reception, integration and training of refugees , asylum seekers and migrants . It has more than 100 permanent employees who speak 40 languages and look after, support and advise more than 4,200 people every year. “We cannot undo the suffering that refugees have experienced. But we can work together to ensure that refugees in Austria and Europe find future prospects, ”says managing director Andrea Eraslan-Weninger.
Assisted living
In the Integrationshaus itself, 110 people can still find stable accommodation, 37 of them - in 2013 - had a specialist psychiatric diagnosis and were admitted with an increased need for care. In 2013, 30 apartments in a cooperative building on the Nordbahnhof site were also given to refugee families.
Caravan shared apartments
There are two shared flats for ten unaccompanied minors each. They are called Caravan and are manned by trained staff around the clock.
Advice offers
The psychosocial counseling center at the Nordbahnhof for people in basic care offers advice and help and in 2013 looked after 1,973 people in numerous languages. Connected to this is independent legal advice, which is financed exclusively from donations.
Educational offers
In addition to kindergarten and afternoon care, the association has a large number of training offers for young people, including as part of youth coaching.
Political demands
Integrationshaus is calling for the legal situation in Austria, which is difficult for refugees to understand, to be simplified and for asylum seekers to have full access to the labor market after six months. "Only those who are enabled by law to support themselves can take their lives into their own hands again and shape it in a humane manner," says Andrea Eraslan-Weninger.
Refugee ball
Integrationshaus has organized the Vienna Refugee Ball every year since 1995 . The first ball took place in March 1995 under the motto No chance for xenophobia in the Sofiensaal . Multiethnic music groups from all over Europe play, migrants act as DJs. Since 1996 the City of Vienna has made the Vienna City Hall available free of charge for this ball . The net proceeds from the night of the ball finance numerous Integrationshaus projects.
As a further event of the Integrationshaus, the project Lachen hilft established itself from 1998 onwards , which first took place annually in the Vienna City Hall, later in the Volkstheater, currently in the Stadtsaal on Mariahilferstrasse. Twice a year, cabaret evenings with prominent local artists take place there. The net proceeds of the events go to the Integrationshaus.