City councillors and the media find out about accommodation for refugees and asylum seekers in Chemnitz
Yesterday evening, city councillors and media representatives had the opportunity to gain an overview of the accommodation of asylum seekers by the city of Chemnitz. With the accommodation and care concept for asylum seekers adopted by the City Council in March, the City of Chemnitz also promised to provide regular information to the City Council and the public.
On site, the participants were informed by social workers, property managers or security guards about the conditions in the individual facilities, such as daily routines, room facilities, language courses and the origin of the residents.
The city councillors also gained an overview of the accommodation situation and took the opportunity to ask questions of the staff and asylum seekers and talk to them. The visit to flats on the Bernsdorfer Hang, where there was an opportunity to talk to families in their flats, will be particularly memorable. They had agreed to describe their reasons for fleeing and to provide insights into their everyday lives in Germany. The participants were warmly welcomed and bid farewell by the residents of Bernsdorfer Hang, especially the many children.
At the end of April, 1167 asylum seekers were accommodated in Chemnitz, including 329 children. There are 354 places available in the shared accommodation centres visited yesterday, 82 percent of which are currently occupied. As at the reporting date, 633 people were accommodated in the decentralised housing that has been increasingly expanded in recent months and for which the City of Chemnitz has a rental agreement.
In order to provide accommodation for the approximately 2,000 asylum seekers forecast for the end of 2015 - according to a new BAMF forecast, around 1,400 new arrivals are expected this year - the city of Chemnitz could need around 670 places in residential homes in the future. The last time accommodation in a shared facility was put out to tender was in 2013. The resulting contract for the Wohnhotel Kappel expires at the end of the year and cannot be extended. In order to meet the demand for accommodation for asylum seekers, this service will be put out to tender again, as well as a further facility with up to 150 additional places. As the service is to be put out to tender in an open procedure and therefore requires a certain lead time, the tendering process for two shared accommodation facilities with social care will begin at the end of May from 1 January 2016. However, the City of Chemnitz remains committed to its goal of accommodating one third of asylum seekers in shared accommodation and two thirds in decentralised housing.