Neues Hoffnungshaus in Ulm-Donaustetten: Ein Ort des Zusammenhalts und Gemeinschaft

• New Hoffnungshaus® (House of Hope) in Ulm-Donaustetten: The Hoffnungsträger Foundation is planning a new Hoffnungshaus® to continue its proven housing concept aimed at strengthening social cohesion and successful integration.
  
• Housing concept and development: 38 rental apartments are being built in three so-called Hoffnungshäuser (Houses of Hope), along with a Laubenganggebäude (building providing sheltered access to outside spaces) and a recessed top floor, offering space for people of all generations and cultures. The foundation places great emphasis on sustainable development and neighbourhood interaction. A large proportion of the apartments are publicly subsidised and will be let to tenants with a housing eligibility certificate.
  
• Social added value: The concept promotes a vibrant neighbourhood and makes an active contribution to the local area and the community. The local council unanimously supports the project. The Board of Trustees of the RAM Foundation and the Merckle family aim to strengthen social cohesion and integration in their home region through this housing concept.

Ulm-Donaustetten, 6 March 2025 – The Hoffnungsträger Foundation is delighted to announce plans for a new Hoffnungshaus® in Ulm-Donaustetten. With this location, the Foundation is continuing its tried-and-tested innovative housing concept, which has already been successfully implemented at ten sites in Baden-Württemberg and has proven its worth over many years. An eleventh site in Gaildorf is currently under construction.

Multi-family housing at Brückle

In Ulm-Donaustetten, 38 rental apartments are being built in three blocks in line with our well-known Hoffnungshaus® design, featuring curved balconies, and a Laubenganggebäude (building offering sheltered accesss to outside spaces) with eleven bays and communal terraces. The majority of the apartments are publicly subsidised and will be let to tenants with a housing eligibility certificate; the remaining apartments are available to other tenants. The apartments range in size from 30 to 120 square metres and offer space for people of all generations and cultures. The characteristic ‘rounded corners’ of our well-known Hoffnungshaus design symbolise protection, and the balconies, which curve in opposite directions, facilitate communication across the floors for the benefit of the community.

Concept and guiding principles

The Hoffnungshaus® concept promotes successful coexistence through a vibrant neighbourhood and spaces for interaction that extend far beyond the resident community. The guiding principles – participation and interaction, dialogue on equal terms, tolerance, empowerment, mutual support, appreciation and consideration – form the core of the approach.

People with refugee backgrounds are supported on their path to integration. The aim is to actively and hopefully help shape our society in a sustainable way and to promote harmonious coexistence within the neighbourhood and the local area.

The Hoffnungsträger Foundation coordinates the allocation of apartments with great care to ensure successful coexistence between people with refugee backgrounds and local residents. Particular emphasis is placed on achieving a balanced mix of different generations, as well as people from different countries of origin and cultures, who help shape the concept. Particularly valuable are housemates who are in the prime of life and who embody the values of the Hoffnungsträger Foundation through responsible behaviour within our community.

The impact is measured through regular standardised resident surveys and individual interviews. The site management, usually a married couple with a family, lives in the Hoffnungshaus® and works together with the team and the residents to ensure the successful implementation of the concept.

Thomas Röhm, who is responsible for setting up the site, emphasises: “For us, it is clear: integration only succeeds in a living community. In the Hoffnungshäuser, diversity and cohesion take centre stage and are the driving forces that bring about lasting and positive change in our society.”

“Our aim is to enable refugees to start an independent and self-determined life in their new home. The implementation of our concept bears a unique stamp at each site. Various initiatives strengthen educational and community work. Community-building activities create space for encounters between people who would otherwise rarely meet,” emphasises Röhm.

Development
The Hoffnungsträger Foundation attaches great importance to high-quality, sustainable development and attractive outdoor spaces. Its projects have already received multiple awards for exemplary construction. Furthermore, the foundation promotes openness and interaction with the neighbourhood by incorporating footpaths within the development that are accessible to the general public.

Support from the local and municipal councils
Sowohl der Ortschaftsrat als auch der Gemeinderat haben 2024 dem Projekt zugestimmt. Zuvor hatte der Ortschaftsrat einen exklusiven Einblick ins Hoffnungshaus® Schwäbisch Gmünd erhalten, was ihn von dem Konzept überzeugte. Im Januar hat der Ortschaftsrat erneut über das Vorhaben beraten und den Bebauungsentwurf einstimmig befürwortet.

A particular concern of the RAM Foundation
The RAM Foundation Ulm is committed to this project because it is convinced that this concept is one of the few functioning and innovative housing concepts for social cohesion and integration. It is supported by the Board of Trustees of the RAM Foundation and the Merckle family, who have made it a matter close to their hearts to make an important contribution to their home region. Social cohesion, successful integration and affordable housing are significant local challenges.

Social value
“We are passionately active and are shaping society in a hopeful and sustainable way, contributing to social cohesion and successful integration. The aspect of lived integration and Christian charity is at the heart of our work,” emphasises Angelika Röhm, Managing Director of the Hoffnungshaus® division.

Since 2016, the Hoffnungshäuser have proven to be extremely successful. There has been no failure to date, and the high demand for this concept speaks for itself. Should challenges nevertheless arise, the experienced Hoffnungsträger Foundation draws on individual support measures to further optimise the tried-and-tested concept.

To actively involve local residents and answer their questions, there will be an open public consultation session. In addition, an exclusive tour of the Hoffnungshaus® in Schwäbisch Gmünd will be offered. Local residents will have the opportunity to travel there by bus and gain an exclusive insight. In this way, the Hoffnungsträger Foundation aims to ensure that local residents are involved and can form a comprehensive picture of the project.