Hamburg prepares exhibition hall as accommodation

According to the social authorities, a trade fair hall will be prepared in the coming week for the accommodation of refugees. "It is not yet certain whether and when an occupancy will take place," said authority spokesman Martin Helfrich on Wednesday regarding the relevant media reports. "In view of the access numbers and the exhausted capacities, however, rapid occupancy can be expected."

A hall to accommodate the refugees is only for the transition, but better than tents. Most recently, the social authorities used the fair as emergency accommodation when more and more people were fleeing Ukraine at the beginning of March this year. At that time, up to 2000 short-term emergency sleeping places were available there. The authority was not yet able to provide information on Wednesday about a specific number of places that could currently be available and that should then be occupied for a somewhat longer period of time. Senator Leonhard had recently spoken of 350 to 400 seats in the fair.

Two sports halls from vocational schools and the so-called Fegro hall are currently already occupied, the spokesman said. "Three other vocational school halls are prepared so that they can be used at short notice if necessary." New accommodation is being prepared all the time - such as hotels and guesthouses and school locations that are no longer used. In addition, commercial properties have been rented and are currently being renovated.

In mid-September, Hamburg's interior and social authorities warned of the continued influx of Ukrainian war refugees and asylum seekers from other countries that the aid system would be overburdened. "The situation is very, very much more tense than it felt over the summer," said Senator for Social Affairs Melanie Leonhard (SPD).

Of the 30,000 accommodation places that the city had in February this year, 27,500 were already occupied at the beginning of the year. With the beginning of the wave of refugees after the beginning of the war, another 13,000 were created, according to the authority. And they are already 98 percent full. In the last three months, 2,000 war refugees from the Ukraine have come to Hamburg. The city expects the influx to continue.

Not all of them have to be accommodated by the city, but the rate of privately accepted refugees is falling – from 50 percent in the spring to 30 percent at the moment. Overall, the Hanseatic city has already accommodated 43,500 people publicly this year. On Tuesday, Social Senator Leonhard said that the number of refugees housed in November could be expected to exceed 50,000.