Stiftung LEBENSRÄUME Offenbach am Main
LEBENSRÄUME Offenbach
The Stiftung Lebensräume Offenbach am Main is an established non-profit organization for welfare services with a focus on psychosocial support and integration. Since the founding of the predecessor association in 1989 and the foundation's establishment in 2010, the social enterprise has offered comprehensive services for people with mental disabilities or social disadvantages, including housing and care concepts, day centers, and health-promoting prevention and crisis services[2][5].
Core competencies include:
– Housing offers such as assisted living and apartments for everyday support[2][5].
– Employment promotion through integration services, job counseling and the Zentrum für Arbeitshilfen with case management for the primary labor market[2][5].
– ESSWERK, an integration company that provides lunch for over 1,000 daycare and school children every day[5].
– Day-structuring offers in five Hessian cities, which have been continuously expanded since the 1990s[2].
The company's mission is to secure participation and combat stigmatization: Those affected should "remain visible in everyday life" and lead a self-determined life through professional support[5]. Partizipation, Kooperation und Mitbestimmung shape the guiding principle - employees actively participate in shaping processes and rely on respectful cooperation[3].
The foundation is currently driving forward sozialpolitische Initiativen to structurally improve living conditions, for example through Krisenintervention, Beratungsstellen für Bürger:innen and the promotion of inclusive work models[2][5]. As a modern social enterprise, Lebensräume combines practical assistance with health policy advocacy work[1][5].
With around 40 employees in the 1990s and now several hundred beneficiaries, Nachhaltigkeit is at the center: Long-term housing and employment guarantees as well as the spin-off of non-profit companies such as Lwerk (2006) ensure the continuity of the offers[2][5].