The Kiel Anchor
People who are facing existential challenges find support at Kieler Anker. With a great willingness to help, we offer a wide range of services designed to alleviate hardship and create dignified encounters. Our team is storm-tested and experienced. We know what effects a tolerant approach to extreme life situations can have. We know how important it is for people to have a place where they are not looked at strangely, but where they feel comfortable and can meet friends.
To this end, Hempels e.V. and Diakonisches Werk Altholstein GmbH founded the joint company Kieler Anker gGmbH (Kieler Anker for short) in December 2020. Under this umbrella, existing services that HEMPELS e.V. previously operated independently, such as the drinking rooms, social counseling and meal provision, will be brought together. The Kieler Anker started its activities on 01.01.2021.
Together, we tackle poverty and homelessness in Kiel and the surrounding area, whether you are affected, a volunteer or a full-time employee. We do this in the firm conviction that no one in our city has to be without a home if we all work together. In partnership and with the support of the Kiel public, the city, generous companies and the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the federal level, we provide the framework for daily life with warmth, support and dignity - with the aim of working together to eliminate the causes of poverty and homelessness in our society.
We want to support people in Kiel who are affected by or at risk of poverty. The target group is all people who fall under the definition of § 53 "charitable purposes" of the German Tax Code (AO). When these people come to us and use our services, they are our guests. The current theories and methods of social work are reflected and practically applied in our work. At present, we are primarily guided by the approaches of resource orientation, lifeworld orientation, low-threshold and accepting work.
In concrete terms, this means
We treat our guests as equals and meet them in their living environment. We guarantee this by ensuring that our support services are suitable for their circumstances, freely accessible and, if necessary, interlinked. For us, the individual promotion and support of each person is paramount. It is important for us to do this:
- To provide help with access to paid and voluntary work, self-determination, advocacy and family of choice;
- that advice and support is geared towards individual biographies: Everyone has something to offer and should be given opportunities to show this;
- to determine the current need for services as well as the wishes, needs and demands together with our guests (and not for them) and to respond to them in a targeted manner;
- that our guests are perceived in society and find their recognition and place in it;
- to respect the free will of our guests;
- to provide our guests with access to affordable housing and social participation;
- to offer non-judgmental support in the event of conflicts between guests and with our employees, in the sense of situation-oriented and restorative conflict resolution;
- to use our unbureaucratic approach to make it easier for guests to access help from outpatient and inpatient facilities, authorities and cooperation partners
- to strengthen our guests in situations of upheaval.
We see this mission statement as a mandate to live by its principles and to continuously develop ourselves further. It points the way to the future and provides orientation.
This mission statement for social work at Kieler Anker was developed in 2021 with the participation of all social work staff. It is to be continuously updated.
This means that our support services are available to our guests and can be used by everyone - both physically and without financial outlay. Hardly any commitments are required, and guests' personal constitutions are accepted, regardless of their use of legal or illegal addictive substances.
For our work, this results in a holistic concept of help in a life-long process that strengthens social skills.
Ending poverty and exclusion in Kiel
- Everyone should be supported in striving for a fulfilled life according to their own definition.
- All people in Kiel who are willing and able to work should be able to earn a living from their own paid work commensurate with their abilities; all other people should be provided with basic financial security.
- Everyone should have access to suitable and affordable housing of their own.
- No one should be excluded from social participation due to their origin, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental condition, or due to their lifestyle (e.g. substance abuse, delinquency, self-imposed or involuntary homelessness).
We offer people seeking help in Kiel support in overcoming poverty and social exclusion. We are particularly there for people in physical need, in emotional distress and in socially unjust circumstances. Our team is aware of these needs and offers support to alleviate them. We are aimed at everyone, regardless of religion, gender, ethnic origin, sexual identity, mental or physical health.
The Kieler Anker is a provider of social services with the specific aim of offering support and assistance to people in poverty, homelessness and other precarious living conditions.
The conceptual pillars of the services are resource and lifeworld orientation as well as low-threshold and acceptance of individual life situations and life plans. Every person receives respect and recognition.