Die Gruft
 | This article may be a rough translation from German. It may have been generated, in whole or in part, by a computer or by a translator without dual proficiency. |
Die Gruft (German: "the crypt") is a homeless institution run by the Caritas of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna in the 6th district of Vienna Mariahilf on the premises below the Church of Mariahilf (often: Barnabite Church). It opened in 1986, and is currently open 24 hours a day offering meals, shower facilities, shelters, overnight accommodation, medical and psychiatric care to homeless people.[1]
History
Die Gruft was founded in 1986 by Salvatorian pastor and theologian Albert Gabriel (then pastor at the Mariahilfer Church) with the support of students from the nearby Amerling-School. It originally served as a warming room for the homeless during advent. They offered tea and simple hot meals for two hours daily in the former plague cemetery below the Mariahilfer Church.[2] Since October 1994, the tomb has been open 24 hours a day, through the support of the Social Welfare Fund. In July 1996, Caritas Wien took over management of the institution.[3]
Statistics and funding
Free food is served three times daily, for a total of 81,897 food portions in 2007. In addition, there were 25,477 overnight stays in 2007 and 1,165 received care by social workers. Of those, about 15% were women.[4]
Half of the funding is provided by the Social Welfare Fund - around 500,000 euros in 2008[5] - the other half by donations. In 2012, 97,285 meals were donated - more than ever before - and there were 19,453 overnight stays, slightly more than in 2011.[6]
Expansion and Zweite Gruft
In 2009, Caritas opened a Zweite Gruft (German: "second crypt") in Vienna's 18th district, Währing, specifically for EU foreigners.[7]
Due to an increased demand for space at the site below the Mariahilfer Church, an expansion of the crypt began on 31 August 2012. On 19 September 2013, an above-ground building for daytime care of the homeless opened. This added 450 m2 of usable space in and around the vicarage of the Barnabite Church.[8]
References
- ^ "Die Gruft". www.gruft.at (in German). 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2019-07-04.
- ^ Wissenswertes.at: Die Gruft - Hilfe für Obdachlose Archived 2016-03-23 at the Wayback Machine, abgerufen am 5. Dez. 2009
- ^ 20 Jahre Gruft: Ein Ort für obdachlose Menschen in Wien, abgerufen am 23. November 2011
- ^ Die Gruft - Jahresbericht 2007[dead link], abgerufen am 5. Dez. 2009
- ^ ORF-Online: Karl Markovics wird zum "Obdachlosen", abgerufen am 5. Dez. 2009
- ^ http://wien.orf.at/news/stories/2604358/ „Gruft“-Zubau wird eröffnet, ORF.at vom 19. September 2013
- ^ ""Zweite Gruft" für die Obdachlosen des Audimax", Die Presse (in German), retrieved 2018-11-24
- ^ ORF-Online: „Gruft“-Zubau wird eröffnet; abgerufen am 19. September 2013
External links
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