Shared apartment for addicts in Linz: “Not the end of the line, but a new beginning”

“Nest” is the name of the new facility where addicts live and are cared for around the clock. “There is nothing comparable in Upper Austria,” said Hattmannsdorfer at the press conference on Monday. In contrast to an emergency shelter, residents find permanent accommodation here.

They can stay in the “nest” for up to two years. On the initiative of the social association B37, 14 living spaces were created in a building on Goethestrasse, and four will be occupied next Wednesday. The goal is clear: “Not to create problems, but to solve them. We want to encourage people to want to move towards abstinence,” said project manager Christian Gaiseder.

The new home will close a gap, said his colleague Sebastian Hauser. The home is aimed at adults who are addicted to drugs and experiencing homelessness. In Linz, this applies to around 50 people, according to a survey by B37. However, previous offers are not suitable for this target group.

More on the subject: Unique home for homeless addicts – “we are not a place to give up”

Exchange of syringes in the apartment

Because of their consumption, addicts would be excluded from traditional residential facilities in order not to endanger the health of the employees and clients there. By this Hauser means, for example, stabbing accidents, abandoned syringes or the transmission of infectious diseases such as HIV. In the “nest” the residents are allowed to consume. Used syringes can be disposed of in the house; fresh ones will be handed out if necessary, because no one should get sick because of a dirty syringe.

The central location was consciously chosen “because we want to be where the people are,” said those responsible for the project. The feeling of security among the population should also be increased. “The clientele can usually be found in hotspots such as parks or train stations. B37 is now tackling this problem aggressively for the first time,” said Hattmannsdorfer.

A total of 15 social workers are there for the residents at the facility on Goethestrasse. They also receive medical and psychological help from outside. The state council emphasized that the facility is not the end of the line, but rather a new beginning. It is intended to give addicted homeless people a perspective on an independent life. “If someone is caught in this vortex, we want to help them out.”