• Two municipal street workers have been working in Aachen since mid-August.
• The street social work team was created as part of the social policy measures of the integrated concept for attractiveness and safety.
• The low-threshold services offered by street social workers are intended to support those affected on the one hand and to serve as a point of contact for the general urban community on the other.

The city of Aachen developed the Integrated Concept for Attractiveness and Safety (IKAS) in response to numerous responses from the urban community. This was adopted by Aachen City Council a year ago, on October 9, 2024, and is based on the so-called cloverleaf model with four fields of action: regulatory measures, measures in public spaces, communication and awareness-raising as well as socio-political measures. The latter includes the city's new street social work team. The concept is continuously being developed and adapted to current needs.

Being approachable and visible
The team has been operational since mid-August and is present in the city center with regular street work sessions. The street workers make initial contacts, support people in challenging life situations and are available as contact persons for the urban community. Thomas Hissel, Deputy Mayor for Housing, Social Affairs and Economic Affairs, formulated the goals of the newly created team in the Housing, Social Affairs and Integration department at a joint press event as follows: "We want to be approachable, helpful and visible - both for the general urban community and for those affected. That's why we decided to wear uniform work clothing." The street workers can be recognized by their black jackets with yellow buttons. "Street social work is a central sub-project of IKAS, which focuses on the increasing problems surrounding a growing drug scene, rising homelessness and begging," Hissel continues. However, the focus must be on the individual, who often finds themselves in an emergency situation due to strokes of fate such as illness, separation or job loss. The target group is clearly defined: street social work is aimed at people of legal age who are affected by homelessness, addiction, mental illness and/or other social disadvantages.

229 outreach interviews in two months
The street social workers are out on the streets, particularly in the city center, for three to five hours every Monday to Friday. However, their work also includes counseling sessions in the offices in the Bahnhofsplatz administration building on Hackländerstrasse or accompanying those affected to appointments with authorities or doctors. In their two months of work, street social workers Janine Alvarez Leal and Christoph Casper have achieved impressive results: They have already conducted 229 outreach interviews, provided 32 consultations and twelve accompaniments. Team leader Jannika Masloh focuses on the methodological principles of street social work - voluntariness, low-threshold, relationship work, participation and transparency. "We say: the person is the expert on their own life. We are not an enforcement agency, but work for socio-pedagogical prevention and intervention."

Six central fields of action
In total, the city's street social work comprises six central fields of action: outreach street social work on the street, advice and mediation, case management, which includes long-term, coordinated support for those affected, accompanying appointments, networking and being a point of contact for the general urban community.

Municipal street social work is only a supplement to existing services. It is therefore important to avoid duplicating structures. This is why, for example, weekly coordination meetings are held with the street social work of Café Plattform. We also work together with "Housing First" of WABe e. V. or with the Caritas addiction support service. The street social workers also visit outlying districts if they receive information from the public.

Building trust
Street worker Christoph Casper explains what is important in day-to-day work: "The current focus is on establishing initial contact with the target group, building trust and offering immediate support. We are already noticing a good acceptance of our work within the target group." It is very rare for any support to be completely blocked when approached directly, but this also has to be accepted. Weekly, open consultation hours in offices round off the low-threshold offer.

The street social work team is available to residents, business owners, citizens and visitors to the city of Aachen for questions or concerns about social problems in public spaces on 0241 432-56010 or at strassensozialarbeit@mail.aachen.de.