In Stuttgart, early on Sunday morning, September 6, 124 refugees arriving from Hungary, including many families, moved into a shelter provided at short notice by the state capital with the help of the Caritas Association. The house had been prepared and furnished on Saturday by the Stuttgart fire department in cooperation with the DRK. In the facility of the Caritasverband, formerly a retirement and nursing home, refugees should actually be housed by the city of Stuttgart from October. Until further notice, it now serves as a state emergency shelter.
On Sunday at noon, Stuttgart’s Social Mayor Isabel Fezer visited the shelter together with the President of the Stuttgart Regional Council, Johannes Schmalzl. Fezer was impressed by the work done by the fire department and the DRK together with the Caritas association and many volunteers. The mayor said: “I am impressed by the professionalism and speed with which the employees of the municipal offices such as the Fire Protection Directorate, the Social Welfare Office and the Youth Welfare Office, as well as Caritas and the DRK, have put together such a good shelter for the people in need. The cooperation with the regional council and the state authorities was also excellent. In the many contacts I have had, I have experienced only helpfulness, responsiveness and competence.”
“Offer no comfort, but protected space”
The mayor described her impressions after the tour as follows: “I feel a great sigh of relief here in the building. People can relax after their long, difficult flight. We are not offering them anything overly comfortable, but the refugees are grateful for the space where they can feel safe and protected.”
District President Schmalzl emphasized, “I would like to express my special thanks to the state capital Stuttgart for the good and constructive cooperation. It is important that Stuttgart is and remains a reliable partner for us in dealing with this major humanitarian task. Only together can the state and the municipalities meet this challenge. All levels of the state administration are working in a community of responsibility. The help that the state capital Stuttgart is giving us here is at the same time relieving the LEA in Ellwangen in the administrative district. This shows the great solidarity among the municipalities, which we urgently need. At the same time, I thank all the helpers who set up this emergency shelter at such short notice and put it into operation.”
Municipal “alarm chain has worked”
Following the request from the State Ministry on Saturday morning, Fezer said the city had of course immediately complied with the state’s request for refugee accommodation in this emergency situation. “Our alarm chain worked perfectly, and we were able to provide and equip a shelter within a few hours.” In her words of thanks, Fezer praised the smooth interaction between the professional and volunteer fire departments, the German Red Cross (DRK), the Caritas Association and its management of Haus Martinus, as well as their refugee support with the social administration, including the Youth Welfare Office, and with the Regional Council. She also thanked the Klinikum Stuttgart and the Malteser for the provision and care of a medical ambulance in the accommodation.
Professional firefighters and several departments of the volunteer fire department had immediately started setting up the house St. Martinus on Saturday after the alarm was raised. In the course of the day, they furnished the rooms with beds, sleeping bags and hygiene articles provided by the DRK, as well as the common rooms with seating. DRK and volunteer forces of the fire department provided food for the refugees.
Caritas Association looks after the refugees
The house also houses a medical outpatient clinic operated by the Stuttgart Clinic together with Malteser Hilfsdienst, where the refugees are examined for infectious diseases such as tuberculosis. The Caritas Association takes care of the refugees in the accommodation with its professional refugee social work, including staff with a migration background and knowledge of Arabic. In addition, a guard service was made possible for the shelter by the city.
Among the refugees were also unaccompanied minors. They were taken into care by the Youth Welfare Office and are being looked after in specially adapted accommodation. The young people will be assigned a guardian in the coming weeks and placed in residential groups or foster care with socio-educational support.
Stuttgart is currently home to 4300 refugees, with more to follow as early as next week.