so it was
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An apartment is not everything - however without
one, is everything nothing.
For this reason is the self-help house in Oderberger
Straße 12 an important part in the fight of the current problem of housing
shortage in Berlin. The current housing shortage is due to lack of inexpensive
apartments and the stop of state involvement in the housing industry, therefore
is self-help in this case urgently necessary.
In 1999 mob e.V. received the rights to a land, and
sign a contract, which stretches for a period of 50 years. There was
already two houses on the land but they were old and in urgent need of
renovation. The work was preformed with help of money from the “Landesprogramms
Wohnungspolitische Selbsthilfe” (state program of a policy for housing
self-help) and with help of engagement work from former homeless under guidance
and supervision of professional architects and construction workers, and lasted
until May 2003.
The result is a house with 18 apartments and 2
offices. In the offices is all the associations’ bookkeeping, the
administration of the house and a second-hand shop run, and all of the
apartments are currently rented to people in different special situations. This
project has shown that it is possible for a self-help association like mob e.V.
to be able to build up, manage limits and dead-lines and run a entire house
with the help of “self-helpers”, and lead to next step, that are being built up
at the moment: integration and activities in the neighbourhood. The fact that
the association do all administration of the building, results in a close contact
with the residents and support in their way of handling the situation.
stefan, 11.04.2006
