There is little that Maria (name changed by the editors) has not gone through in her short life. She ran away from home, tried to take her own life several times and experienced sexual violence. But now she is happy, says the 18-year-old and takes a big sip from her coffee cup. One of the people who helped her find her new happiness was the staff at Essen's emergency sleeping center for young people. Since 2001, they have opened their doors and ears every night to up to eight homeless young people.
A total of around 2,000 "street children" live in North Rhine-Westphalia, estimates Uwe Britten of the children's charity Terre des Hommes. They would face just about 20 emergency shelters for teenagers and young adults, of which hardly any facility has more than ten beds. For the six beds and two emergency sleeping places in Essen, there are therefore enough applicants almost every night. "It even goes so far that we have to turn young people away because we simply don't have any more space," says the facility's director, Manuela Grotschel. However, staff members make efforts to place the young people in facilities in other cities. Max (name changed by the editors) alone has been hit six times in the past week. Because, at 21, he is the oldest of the young people, he was the first to be sent back out onto the street. "The younger ones have priority with us," Grotschel says in justification. Those who come to the emergency sleeping center not only receive a warm bed for the night. "In the evenings we cook – as vitamin-rich and healthy as possible," says Grotschel. In the morning, there is also a sumptuous breakfast offering. For the "street kids" this is a rarity. Shoes, clothes and a washing and drying machine are also available to the young people in "Raum_58. Most of her proteges already have long "street careers" behind them when they come to "Raum_58," Grotschel recounts. Many of them take drugs of all kinds, have children at an early age or end up in prison. Like Max. It's been about three weeks since he was allowed to leave the prison after his second stay. For Grotschel nothing unusual. "Street life brings a lack of money," says the graduate teacher succinctly.Max is already an old acquaintance at the emergency sleeping center. He first showed up there three years ago. He had previously been through shelters, jail, long nights on the streets and a failed new start with his mother. "That's typical," says Grotschel. Most of the young people who came to "Raum_58" had a similar career behind them, had already been in various youth welfare programs and at some point had ended up on the streets. Grotschel admits that it is difficult to make a real fresh start. "In the case of about one in five, we manage to place them in an apartment or in therapy, for example." But even with this 20 percent there is no guarantee of success. "It is very difficult to bring structure into the lives of young people. Many of them are simply not used to a regular daily routine." Result are often chronic lack of money, littered apartments and the subsequent eviction from the landlord. But Mary wants to make it. Together with her boyfriend Max, she wants to make a new start – in Spain, with a regular job and her own apartment. "The only thing we have to get through first is the trial period in Germany," she says, jumping up from her chair after a quick glance at the clock. It is already almost nine o'clock in the morning – the time at which the young people have to leave the dormitory. But in the evening at nine o'clock Maria wants to come back again before she will leave food for good.