Germany treats their homeless like human beings.

[Cleita]

BERLIN'S VAGABOND CHIC

'Most Beautiful Homeless Shelter in the World'

With chandeliers instead of neon lighting and designer furnishings instead of springless sofas, a newly revamped homeless hostel in south Berlin looks more like a hip hotel -- and aims to give some dignity to those worn out by life on the streets.

With its exterior daubed in sunshine yellow and sky blue, the new homeless hostel stands out in its row of pale buildings. And its interior is equally exceptional. As well as glitzy chandeliers, there are wooden floorboards, a gold border encircles the walls and the furniture looks plucked straight from a design catalogue.

But this is no hip new Berlin hotel. It is a revamped homeless hostel named Reichtum 2, or "wealth", the work of Berlin-based artist Miriam Kilali. And wealth is something sorely lacking in the lives of the 21 men who now live in the hostel.

The hostel, which reopened its doors this week, was designed to restore a sense of self-worth in people who have been dealt a raw deal, to show them that they too deserve a decent home. "I wanted to give homeless people, people who had lost everything in their life, respect and dignity back," Kilali told SPIEGEL ONLINE. "I wanted to create a place where they could recover from the stress of life on the street." more at link with photos...

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,591894,00.html

[patrice]

1. Imagine that, people's sense of self-worth is affected by how others treat them! nt

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[asthmaticeog]

4. "They?"

Do imagine that the people who built this are the same individuals who organized the "final solution?" Do you make a habit of trivializing the Holocaust every time Germany comes up in conversation? I suspect you're the exact kind of Jew who I often find myself making excuses for or disowning altogether. Germany -- and the world -- must never forget what happened in WWII, but all the same, Germany should be proud of its progress. It's certainly a more humane nation today than the USA. My father survived those camps, and so did his country. I hope you get out of them someday, too.

[elleng]

6. Please don't scold.

Many of us have similar thoughts, feelings and experiences, and we should recognize and respect ALL of it.

[ben_meyers]

7. Yes "They", and my people

were Romanian Gypsies who were not only exterminated by the Nazi's but suffered discrimination at the hands of everyone else, including the Jews. I not only don't trivialize the Holocaust, I quite frankly get tired of the Jews taking complete ownership of it. Try and find a real population of Romanian Gypsies today. Where is our "homeland" carved out and protected by the rest of the world? You'll not find it will you? Sure your people suffered, but numbers alone don't give you any more special place in this world.

Germany may have made progress, but only because somebody kicked the crap out of them.

[asthmaticeog]

8. Your post is still indefensible. I don't care what ethnicity you are.

Germany is making amazing strides in social progress, strides that the rest of the world should emulate, and all you want to talk about is how they sucked 70 years ago? Practically every German who persecuted Jews, Gypsies, gays, and political dissidents is DEAD now, or else totally enfeebled by advanced age. What's going on with this homeless shelter has NOTHING to do with the Holocaust, and yes you goddamn ARE trivializing it by bringing it up in this totally non-sequitural manner. If every discussion of anything happening in Germany goes back to the Holocaust whether it's relevant or not, the Holocaust loses meaning.

Forgive me, though, for assuming you were Jewish. I'm well aware that other groups were so persecuted - the Romanian Gypsy girlfriend I dated in college clued me in. Your username sounds Jewy to me, so I assumed. That was a mistake, and I'm sorry.

[ben_meyers]

10. "When they came for the gypsies, I did not speak,

for I am not a gypsy. When they came for the Jews, I did not speak, because I
wasn't a Jew. When they came for the Catholics, I did not speak, for I
am not a Catholic. And when they came for me, there was no one left to
speak." -On the Wall at the Holocaust Museum in Washington

BTW, some of my best friends are Jewish.

[asthmaticeog]

11. I'm familiar with Niemöller. Don't see what it has to do with this thread.

OP: Germany's currently doing some amazing things to work on the problem of homelessness.

You: But OMG teh HOLOCAUST!

Me: WTF?

You: You Jews complain too much.

Me: Still don't see what any of this has to do with the OP.

You: I will now abuse Niemöller.

[Cleita]

15. Please go away.

Your opinion belongs in one of the history forums not this one. Many poor people post here who are struggling. Don't turn this into another disrespectful humiliation that they have to endure.

[shaayecanaan]

29. Borgen's 18th rule of internet discussions:-

If someone represents themselves without corroboration on an internet message board as one of the following:-

1)A Zoroastrian
2)A gypsy
3)A Palestinian

the probability that they are bullshitting is approximately (1 - 1/10(7))

[theoldman]

5. Mine too.

I tend to tear up when I see these pictures.

[Joe Chi Minh]

3. Isn't it heartening that every now and again someone seemingly from a different

universe shows us what our humanity could be like.

[Cleita]

9. The woman, Miriam Kilali wants to open another one in NYC.

I would hope that maybe it would start a trend towards better shelters for the homeless. In Sweden the homeless shelters have a room with a bath and kitchenette. The Swedes don't want them to freeze to death in the winter so they provide decent shelter to bring them inside over night. It seems we could do things like this if we had the will to do so.

[Joe Chi Minh]

18. A lot of people, often couples, do wonderful work in that line; sometimes

adoption, some times, a really congenial home for homeless people. Oddly enough, I've just been reading about such a couple, providing a home for young men who've "been through the mill". A wonderful article. Almost all repay their trust and remain until they can move on.

The article concludes:

"These cases, however, are rare. For the overwhelming majority, Copperdale really does prove a turning point. When Anne and Terry need a plumber, electrician or computer expert, they have no shortage of former residetns they can call on. Several have gone on to university; many now have families of their own.

For anyone still wondering about the secret of Anne and Terry's success, their philosophy is simple - search for the good in someone, and you'll usually find it.

"You see this," Anne says, reaching over to her kitchen windowsill and picking up a cactus with three maginificent pink blooms. "The leaves are all spiky, but if you look after it, it will eventually blossom. It's the same with our lads. They're prickly but give them time and they'll develop into something wonderful, too.

Well, women do tend to have a thing about flowers, but it's an apt enough metaphor, isn't it?

[bobbolink]

12. Having come from yet another DU post where the "progressive" poster

is soooo afraid of poor and homeless people "getting away with something", and angry that he's worked all his life and here are people getting "something for nothing", it's refreshing to see that there ARE people in the world who still have a heart, and a bit of understanding.

Most important, I wish this woman could convert those who cling to the RW view here in this country!

[dajoki]

13. Treat people with respect...

and you will be surprised to see the humanity of that person. This shelter is terrific, but what I want to see in the US is permanent housing for the homeless. Of course its very hard to get that message across, just look at this thread about this wonderful shelter being turned into a discussion about the Holocost.

K&R

[Cleita]

14. I hope we get to the point were housing is a human right.

Other countries do it. We have another commercial snake known as the real estate business, which is tied with the mortgage business and so many capitalistic jerk industries that keep people from having just a tiny little bit of property they can call their own, a tiny bit of security they can call home.

[maryf]

16. K & R (#5!!!) Dignity and human rights!

How healing a little dignity can be!! When will the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (60 year anniversary) become a reality? consider how far we have to go to see article #25 be fulfilled:

Article 25.

(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

This article is proof that some hold these rights in their hearts! Thanks so much!!:yourock:

[bobbolink]

17. Yes, we can choose to bring out the best in people, or bring out the worst.

The U.S. tends to treat people in a manner that brings out the worst in each other, then complains about how people behave and their attitudes.

:crazy:

The really sad thing is, until we have the opportunity to put ourselves in a situation where we are treated with respect and compassion, we often don't even have the ability to compare and see how different we feel and how different we act when we are cared about.

I agree with Jean Vanier.... those places of Refuge... places of compassion and respect, are desperately important now, if we are to regain our humanity!

Once again, you've said it very well! :hug: :loveya:

[dajoki]

21. That is the sad thing...

we should not have to put ourselves in a situation to be treated with respect and compassion, that should come with being human. But, as you said, in this country people are always labeled and put in situations where they must open their mouths and be heard, but the vast majority does not like to hear about, which to me, is our country's biggest embarrassment, they would rather live in their own little world of ignorance.:hug: :hi:

[maryf]

19. Kick again

People need to know that some folks really do understand that each and every one of us deserves to be treated with dignity and respect...

[tosh]

20. Actually, there are a few cool low-income housing facilities

popping up in the U.S. I read about one in Chicago that made an impression on me. The Schiff Residences was created to house some formerly homeless and displaced residents of the infamous Cabrini-Green Projects. It occupies some of the land that was once taken up by Cabrini-Green which is now considered an "upscale" area. The development has won architectural awards and acclaim and is noted for its forward-thinking use of "green" technologies.

Check out the website (flash) here: http://www.schiffresidences.org/FlashPage.htm

[bobbolink]

22. Yes, there are a 'few".... that choice of words is apt.

As Rep. Barney Frank asserts, there are 9 million of us who are in need of low-income housing, and 6 million available units.

A first-grader can do that math.

Thanks for the link... I"ll look at it when I have the opportunity. The problem is that most of these are very paternalistic... they treat "residents" as failed and naughty children.

:pals:

[tosh]

23. Yep, emphasis on FEW.

I first read about this in a mag that focuses on sustainable architecture. My first reaction was excitement but while reading, my disappointment grew over the relatively small number of units for the overall cost of the project. Still, though, I think this particular "project" is anti-paternalistic as it is set up to be "bridge" housing. It offers several kinds of support for residents, on-site, that are ignored in other housing solutions I've seen.

It caught my eye because it is for individuals - not families - and it is housing that a resident can be proud of. This is an area that needs help in my region. Here, families have a higher priority on the low-income/subsidized housing lists - as perhaps they should - but many singles/individuals end up fending for themselves in the land of the slum-lords. (Slum ==> in the strongest sense of the word!)

Also note: These benefactors seem to be good folks. This is just one of the projects they've financed. They all seem to be well thought-out.

edited for spelling (new, stiff keyboard)

:hi:

[bobbolink]

25. the cost of the paternalism

This was posted in another thread, but part of it are VERY apropos to paternalistic treatment of poor folk, most especially homeless people:

Stress. It's on everyone's mind. Or rather their body. But what causes stress? If you've been sent on a stress management course, or its cheaper alternative, a stress awareness course, the chances are you'll have not learnt much about the causes of stress. You may know how to clench your buttocks then release as you breath out (hopefully not requiring a change of underwear), but the only way of dealing with stress is to identify the cause and then work to reduce or eliminate the cause. Despite the need for risk assessment and stress audits, many employers are coy about the causes of stress. Encouraging employees to endure prolonged negative stress - such as by forcing them to attend a stress management seminar - could be setting them up to sustain further injury to health and stress-related illness.

To see how stress - negative stress, that is - causes injury to health, including thoughts of suicide, click here. Prolonged negative stress can cause trauma with symptoms congruent with the diagnostic criteria for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD. PTSD is a psychiatric injury, not a mental illness. One symptom of psychiatric injury is reactive depression which leads to thoughts of suicide.

http://www.bullyonline.org/stress/index.htm

[tosh]

27. I am not homeless and I am not currently in poverty

but I am an expert on stress, both short-term and long, and PTSD. Some causes of stress cannot be eliminated or even reduced. And, no - I have never found any stress management "tools" to be helpful in any realistic way.

I certainly agree that paternalistic treatment can only inflame the stress.

[bobbolink]

24. I couldn't find much about their "support services", so I don't know how it is run.

If you have other links, I'd welcome reading more about it.

I know that people are predisposed to like the idea of "counseling"... but having been in that place, I can tell you that what I've seen of it has been that do-gooder, looking-down-the-nose, paternalistic, "You'resopatheticwehavetotellyouwhereyouwentwrongandhowtogetyouracttogether" kinda crap, which only weakens people.

TRUE support LISTENS, rather than talks...and certainly doesn't ORDER.

Again, I'm going by what I've seen... as you saw, another poster has felt the same humiliation, and it is PAINFUL.

What I see from the website is that their focus is on "Green".... rather than on community as such. That's appealing to middle-class people, but doesn't mean anything about how it's run.

I would suggest a book called "Streets Of Hope" about residents who ran their own program and building. A completely different, and VERY hopeful approach!

Organizing should come from the residents, not from the "experts"!!

[tosh]

26. The site sucks, for sure. My guess

is that it (the website) was designed only to tout the greenness and garner more praise from the design world.

I also looked on my magazine's site & couldn't find the article there. The closest that I can find on the web to the article I first read is this blog entry: http://www.feelmorehuman.com/explore/EXPLORE/GETSMART/tabid/57/ItemID/4/View/Details/Default.aspx

[bobbolink]

28. Thank you for continuing to look for more info....I appreciate your steadfastness.

It still kinda gives me the creeps... big brother-like.

Maybe some people need in-loco parentis. MANY of us not only don't need it, but it makes us feel strangled.

Speaking of which..... that is a common response by homeless people in a shelter.. they feel like they can't breathe.. like they are strangling. All that "oversight"...

I'm 62 years old.... I hardly need to have someone "oversee" me, and help me make a "plan". I just need a decent place to live.

Why should that be so difficult??

Again, thanks for your interest, and continuing to find more info!

:yourock:

[Naturyl]

30. Our homless shelters are designed to further punish

The idea, of course, is that the homeless are "deserving" of their condition and by no means should be treated as "better than they are." Drab and broken-down conditions, only, please. We wouldn't want to give the homeless the idea they are worth something, because society wants nothing to do with them.

[Cetacea]

31. Special thanks to Ronald Reagan

Who contributed greatly to the prevailing attitude.