Leverkusen model

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The Leverkusen model means the decentralized accommodation of refugees in private apartments together with local residents, as opposed to central accommodation in refugee accommodation , which the law in Section 53 (1) AsylG prescribes as a rule until the asylum entitlement is recognized.

The decentralized accommodation brings advantages for the refugees as well as for the locals. Therefore, this form of accommodation is being used by more and more municipalities in Germany.

history

In the 1980s and 1990s, the city of Leverkusen was faced with a large influx of refugees, some of which led to the city being overburdened with regard to the accommodation of these refugees. The planning of a large new refugee shelter in 1999 caused widespread public debate. Under the aspects

  1. What is good for the refugees (concerns of the foreigner)?
  2. What is good for urban society ( public interest )?

there was no political or social acceptance for the construction of a new refugee shelter.

In 2000, the Committee for Social Affairs, Health and Seniors (Social Committee) of the City of Leverkusen commissioned the city administration to work with the Refugee Council, the Caritas Association and the Advisory Council for Foreigners ( Integration Council ) on a new concept for the accommodation of refugees. The city of Leverkusen faced the following alternative:

  1. cost-intensive investment program in the existing refugee accommodation or
  2. decentralized accommodation of refugees in private apartments, even with unsecured residence status.

After intensive preparatory work, the social committee of the city of Leverkusen passed a resolution in 2002 to accommodate refugees in private apartments. First there was a test phase for a maximum of 80 refugees. In 2003 this limit of 80 people was abandoned. Since then, refugees have been able to search for and rent an apartment independently, even if their residence status is unsecured.

In 2015, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia allocated refugees, sometimes in large numbers, to the state's cities and municipalities, often at short notice. These were initially housed in collective accommodation in Leverkusen. If no specific date of departure is known or criminal offenses have been committed, the refugee can rent an apartment. For this, the rent upper limits apply analogously to the KdU (costs of accommodation and heating according to SGB II ( Second Book of the Social Code )). When looking for accommodation, refugees are supported by the Caritas Association and the Refugee Council.

rating

The city of Leverkusen has had very good experiences with the decentralized accommodation of refugees over a period of more than fifteen years. The model enjoys a high level of political and social acceptance in Leverkusen.

The renunciation of large central refugee accommodation takes into account the critical attitude of many neighbors to such accommodation. The main advantages are the avoidance of resistance among some neighbors of large refugee accommodation.

Accommodation in private apartments is more humane than in large refugee accommodation.

The integration of refugees into German society - among other things by learning the German language - is much faster.

A comparison of the costs of running large central refugee accommodation on the one hand and the decentralized accommodation of refugees in private apartments on the other hand shows clear cost advantages for accommodation in private apartments. The former head of social affairs for the city of Leverkusen, Frank Stein, estimates that the city has surely been spared seven-figure expenses thanks to this accommodation concept.

Meanwhile, many cities and municipalities nationwide, z. B. Cologne, interested in the "Leverkusen model" and adopted it.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Derwesten.de: Apartment instead of gym - Leverkusen model as a model. Retrieved December 23, 2014 .
  2. ↑ RuhrNachrichten: Transnational Action Alliance for Better Integration through the Leverkusen Model. Retrieved December 23, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Apartment instead of container. Der Spiegel, August 26, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2015 .
  4. ↑ welt.de: Leverkusen model for refugees. Retrieved December 23, 2014 .