Vienna shelter helps women rebuild lives after trauma
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In Vienna, Austria, the Volkshilfe women’s shelter “hafen” is helping women who experienced violence and hardship establish independent lives.
The shelter opened in 2023 as a three-year program intended to break the cycle of short-term assistance that often leaves women returning for help. Volkshilfe director Tanja Wehsely explained the program gives women time to stabilize and build new futures. Several women who initially sought refuge at the shelter have already moved into their own housing and found employment.
Wajma, a 32-year-old mother of three who fled a forced marriage in Afghanistan, now lives in her first apartment. Alice, a 46-year-old psychologist from Ghana who escaped abuse, is also rebuilding her life after finding safety at the shelter. The shelter provides roughly four hours of weekly support to each resident, with women often mentoring newer arrivals. Half of the women currently living at “hafen” are employed, and many are working full-time.
Wajma is learning German, though she regrets never having had the opportunity to attend school, and Alice hopes her children will grow up experiencing a peaceful home life. Wehsely emphasizes that investing in these women is more cost-effective than allowing them to fall deeper into hardship.
