#Germany
#Berlin
#Poor
#Mutualaid

>Helping people made difficult

-For more than ten years, "Moabit Helps" has been stepping in where the authorities fail. Now it's threatened with closure because the state of Berlin has terminated its lease.

Berlin taz | When tens of thousands of asylum seekers came to Berlin in the summer of 2015 and the authorities proved incapable of providing them with adequate care, the association "Moabit hilft" (Moabit Helps) stepped in and became known nationwide. While the deficiencies in the accommodation provided by the then-responsible State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lageso) in Moabit caused ever new scandals, hundreds of volunteers stepped in daily to provide the people in need with the bare necessities.

Ten years later, the initiative is still in Moabit, having been based in a low-rise urban building on Turmstrasse since 2018. To this day, more than 60 people in need are cared for daily by around 85 volunteers in the bright and friendly, yet improvised-looking building, Ronja Lange, one of the association's three full-time employees, tells taz.

There's a clothing store and a warehouse for clothing donations, a large consultation room, two offices, and a tea kitchen. Not only refugees, but also the homeless and other socially disadvantaged people come here. "We try to help everyone," says Lange. The association, which receives no government funding, does work "that should actually be secured by government structures," the initiative describes itself.

"We advise people on social and asylum-related issues, support them with administrative procedures, offer language mediation, and distribute donations in kind," says Lange. However, the association is more than just a low-threshold and unbureaucratic contact point for those seeking help. Furthermore, it repeatedly draws attention to grievances that affect socially disadvantaged people – most recently, for example, the discriminatory payment card for refugees.
No new tenant in sight yet

But that could soon be over. The lease for the "Moabit hilft" premises was terminated effective June 1. The building belongs to the State of Berlin and is managed by the state-owned Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH (BIM). The company is responsible for the leasing and sale of state-owned properties and reports to the Senate Department for Finance.

The association took over the dilapidated building in 2018 and renovated it independently, Lange explains. Before that, it was used to store files. The aid organization had actually hoped for a long-term perspective. "But BIM never made us an offer that went beyond June 2025," the volunteer criticizes.

BIM rejects the demand for a longer-term contract "because the space cannot be blocked for years for state-owned users," a spokesperson told taz in response to an inquiry. There has been no lease since 2020; instead, what BIM calls a "tacit contract" was terminated at the beginning of the year, effective June 1. Although "there is currently no concrete subsequent user," files could soon be stored there again.

The association is stunned and refuses to accept this. "We will not move," explains Diana Henniges, founder of "Moabit hilft." "We demand a dialogue on equal terms with the BIM." The BIM must explain "clearly and transparently" why it is now evicting the association, even though it hasn't yet found a new tenant. "We want to make it clear that civil society organizations like ours shouldn't always be dismissed as a nuisance."
Important voice against grievances

The lack of appreciation for their largely voluntary work is troubling the helpers. They've felt unwanted from the start, say Hennige and Lange. "This current situation is the culmination of eleven years of taking work off the Senate's hands and helping people who would otherwise have ended up who knows where," criticizes Lange. "We're no longer willing to present ourselves as supplicants to the Senate," says Henniges combatively. "We're truly fed up."

The two women report numerous cases of government failure, delays, lack of planning, and incompetence. The system is completely overwhelmed, says Henniges. "This is also due to the severe cuts to the social welfare system in recent years." The association is countering this with years of networking efforts – with people and initiatives that are willing to do something for the city's poorest.

This hasn't just won them friends in politics and administration. "We're well-known. Especially because we speak very clearly about the grievances," says founder Henniges proudly.

Everything is now at stake: "If the city doesn't want this, if they say we'd rather store files here—then we're out. And we won't move anywhere else; we don't have the capacity, neither financially nor physically," Henniges clarifies.
Petition calls for withdrawal of dismissal

The power struggle between the state and the districts is particularly grueling for the volunteers. "We're the ball, and they're playing ping-pong with us," Lange sums it up. "And we're stuck in the middle, thinking: We just want to help people who have no other contact in this city."

They would prefer it if the city fulfilled its responsibilities toward citizens in need. "Our charter states: When people no longer need us, we'll stop," Lange said. But that's not the case. "In many ways, this city can no longer do what it's supposed to do. Namely, care for the poorest people," Henniges said.

Therefore, "Moabit Helps" intends to continue and now sees the Finance Senator as the next step. The association hopes that with enough public pressure, they can remain in their premises. A petition launched Friday demanding the reversal of the termination had been signed by more than 1,700 people by Sunday afternoon.

"Our town is a place for everyone," says Henniges. "There aren't that many of them left. If we weren't there anymore, it would be a bitter loss for this city."

https://taz.de/Drohendes-Aus-fuer-Moabit-hilft/!6076212/