ANNUAL REPORT 2016 Contents Preface 3 Report of the Managing Director 4 Organigramm 7 Finances 12 Psycho-social care department 14 Field of work 16 Project “First Flat” 18 Social education department 20 Project Caravan 22 einewelt-wg 23 Counselling Department 26 Legal advice 28 German language courses of the counselling centre for asylum seekers 30 Education Department 34 Basic education for young migrants (BAJU); Project BAJUplus 36 F.U.T.U.R.E.-Train; “Mom learns German” courses (MLG) 37 Literacy and German-language courses for unaccompanied minor refugees; Education Checkpoint 38 Simmering Prison 40 Labour market projects; JAWAnext7 41 CSC German — labour-market counselling 42 Education Counselling Department 44 Youth coaching 45 Co-operation projects 50 MEVIELpro; ESF/BMBF development partnership MEVIEL[aljesser] 52 ESF/BMB professionalisation project MIKAprof; BMB co-operation project MIKAplus 53 StartWien - Youth college 54 Co-operation project: Kinderfreunde kindergarten 56 Honorary activity 58 Contacts 66 Thank You 67 Imprint 68 Preface While it was still easier to enter Austria as a Members of the Executive Board: refugee in 2015 and to be welcomed here, this has become more and more difficult since • Zohreh Ali-Pahlavani 2016. Politicians invent ever new obstacles to • Georg Dimitz prevent people who flee war and terror from • Maximilian Eberl submitting their justified asylum applications • Dunja Gharwal in Austria. A change of the minister of the in- • Daneta Memisevic terior did not improve the situation but rather • Beatrix Neundlinger made it worse by adding a particularly cynical • Wilhelm Resetarits touch. • Werner Rosinak • Marcel Rowhani At Integrationshaus, we need to be flexible • Ferdinand Sator in order to respond appropriately to changes • Terezija Stoisits in asylum and residence legislation. This does • Sepp Stranig not make our work easier. • Marko Szucsich Therefore I want to thank all those who are • Reinhard Vogel always there and tirelessly take care of the concerns of refugees. Integrationshaus now already has around 150 employees and the “m.o.v.e. on” team moved closer to the Da- nube. This makes communication with the “headquarters” a bit more difficult. However, after-work meetings again and again offer the opportunity for exchanges with colleagues. Many thanks go to Andrea Eraslan-Weninger, our Managing Director, who maintains an ex- Chairwoman of the board, Beatrix Neundlinger cellent overview of everything and manages Integrationshaus so marvellously. I also want to thank the employees for their invaluable work and the members of the Exe- cutive Board for carrying on and persevering. Yours, Beatrix Neundlinger 2 3 Report of the Managing Director Extraordinary challenges Our work in 2016 ned in 2016. The majority of unaccompanied refugee children admitted last year was aged On the one hand, there was great commit- Integrationshaus is a competence centre for less than 14 years. Giving priority to underage, ment and an enormous potential among civil the reception and integration of asylum see- minor refugees in admissions also required society and a few committed politicians who kers, refugees and migrants. At present, 143 numerous changes in day-to-day pedagogical stood up for refugees in 2016. On the other active employees who – in addition to Ger- work. Overall, 272 persons were accommo- hand – in addition to the inflammatory politics man – speak 39 languages work in the dif- dated, supported and given intensive care in of right-wing parties –, the minister of foreign ferent departments. Overall, Integrationshaus psychosocial care and in socio-pedagogical affairs and integration and the minister of made available 7,111 accommodation, coun- residential groups. the interior pursued a very alarming policy of selling, care, training and childcare places in In the reporting year, Integrationshaus sup- scaremongering that generated negative sen- 2016 alone. Furthermore, co-operation pro- ported 1,827 young people within the frame- timents in Austria and Europe and hence also jects perform significant development work. work of youth coaching provided by our edu- set a highly negative example at the European The three biggest groups of refugees which cation counselling service, with 839 young level. Integrationshaus assists within the framework people being offered more intensive support. of basic welfare support come from Afgha- 86% of the young people had a migration Regrettably, non-positive developments – at nistan, Syria and Iraq, followed by Chechnya, background. At present, youth coaching of- the national and European level alike – were: Iran and Somalia. fered at schools also faces high demand for Restrictions on family reunifications and the services and scarcity of resources for asylum introduction of temporary asylum, closure of In 2016, 2,587 people receiving basic welfa- seekers and refugees. Within the framework the Balkan route and a deal ignoring asylum re support found assistance and help in our of education measures and co-operation pro- law with Turkey, unlawful caps and a so-called psychosocial Counselling Centre. In addition jects, around 1,995 training, counselling and “emergency regulation” submitted to consul- to legal issues and questions on public autho- child care places were made available in va- tation. Refoulement to Croatia, which in our rities and agencies, the main topics addressed rious language training and basic education opinion should have been suspended, and un- were housing, work, education and training projects, labour market projects, basic educa- lawful cuts of means-tested benefits in Upper as well as integration into the social environ- tor and volunteer training as well as child care and Lower Austria are other sad examples of ment. The related legal advice unit, which is in 2016. In the field of co-operation projects, very critical negative developments in Austrian fully funded by donations, provided legal re- Integrationshaus participated in the deve- and Europe. Thus, the protection of refugees presentation and support to 430 persons and lopment and implementation of the project was further undermined and unwarranted their families in asylum procedures. “StartWien – The Youth College” and contri- fear spread in the population. Another 171 persons received intensive mul- buted to the accompanying consultation. Ad- Managing Director Andrea Eraslan-Weninger Austria, however, needs policies that take the tilingual assistance in our residential facility; ditionally, we were active in the BBE German protection of refugees seriously and assume out of them, 31 adults needed a higher level project up to mid-2016. responsibility for securing a good future for of care due to their mental and/or physical all. This is only possible if we all take a stand situation. Additionally, 20 children were able and support the policy that advocates for a to get psychological treatment. In the new New projects in 2016 European-minded Austria which respects hu- First Flat project, we succeeded in enabling man rights and the protection of refugees. We 53 young adults to live in nine shared flats Sheltered housing project “First Flat” should speak out for that! in sheltered housing and to involve them in At Integrationshaus, we made great efforts in educational projects in their daily routines. In At the beginning of January, another shelte- 2016 to expand substantially our services for the socio-pedagogical field, 48 children, inclu- red housing project was launched for young refugees in all fields and to provide adequate ding 38 unaccompanied minor refugees, were people above 18 years who arrived as unac- counselling, care and educational offerings. taken care of and supported under the “full companied minors. They have to leave the re- Thus, our staff grew by 37 employees in the education” scheme. A new residential group sidential facilities when they reach the age of reporting year. for unaccompanied minor refugees was ope- majority, but still receive basic welfare support 4 5 Report of the Managing Director Organigramm and need assistance and a daily structure. This onshaus and introduced two projects: training Executive Board is a marvellous, innovative project that provi- for buddies assisting the Counselling Centre des optimal services meeting the needs of this for recipients of basic welfare support and a Management target group and can serve as a model. sponsor project called “Side by Side” for un- accompanied minor refugees. Moreover, the Management Office number of education partners was raised in Caravan 3 the BAJU project as the services offered incre- Accountancy, Personnel Administration, Controling, Public Relation, Fundraising, Event Management, IT, ased. At present, around 200 volunteers work Legal Advice, Funding System, Knowledge Management, Property Management and Technology, Coordination We are very happy that we were able to open with us. of honorary activities a new socio-pedagogical residential group for Departments unaccompanied refugee children aged less than 14 years under a contract with Municipal Expansion of the Counselling Centre for Department 11 in the 22nd district of Vienna. recipients of basic welfare support and Psycho-social care department Socio-pedagogical department Counselling department education counseling StartWien – The Youth College The Counselling Centre for recipients of basic Residential care Socio-pedagogical residential projects Counselling centre for asylum seekers welfare support hired 5 additional employees CARAVAN