Heimstaden, the largest provider of rental housing in the Czech Republic, has set aside equipped apartments for everyone who needs immediate help – for example, women at risk of domestic violence or people affected by fire, floods or other disasters.
Heimstaden launched its program called CRISIS HOUSING 2021 in April. The aid includes the acquisition of a fully equipped rental apartment with the usual local rent for a maximum period of six months. Heimstaden prepared the apartments based on experience from previous years. “We handle about one to two cases a year. The reasons why someone finds themselves without a roof over their head in a single day are various. But it is always a very traumatic experience. In these situations, we were lucky to have a fully equipped apartment at the time, which we could offer immediately. It is on the basis of this experience that we decided to set aside two housing units for this purpose in the long term, one in Karviná and the other in Havířov, and offer the possibility of using them to other cities, which welcomed it with gratitude, “says Kateřina Piechowicz, spokeswoman for Heimstaden. adds that a maximum of 5 people can live in one apartment.
In the CRISIS HOUSING 2021 program, the participant is also offered the necessary individual social support through the social service of the PORTAVITA Association. The social worker will then regularly visit the client in the apartment, up to 3 times a week, and help him to stabilize his life or financial situation (support and support in providing social benefits for living and reimbursement of housing costs, food, medical care, etc. ).
