Always a sympathetic ear

The Schwarzer Peter office is a hive of activity on this early Tuesday afternoon. The atmosphere is good, the aroma of coffee from warm cups and animated conversation prevail. "We have team meetings in the morning," says Adriana Ruzek, co-director of Schwarzer Peter. The place is full at that time, and bilateral discussions about this and that continue after the weekly meeting, she says jokingly. "And it'll stay full," adds Manuela Jeker, co-manager with responsibility for public relations at Schwarzer Peter. 

Short consultations on site  

The office-based outreach workers clear their desks for the upcoming open consultation hours. "On two afternoons a week from 2 pm to 5 pm some of our workers are not out on the streets, but here at Elsässerstrasse to welcome people for open consulting hours." This explains the apparent hustle and bustle and disorder at the office. "We see the short consultations as complementary to our street work," says Adriana, who is responsible for finance and fundraising in the five-member co-management team. "We provide guidance, clarify which services we can refer people to, or we work out joint possible courses of action or prospects in dialogue with the clients," Manuela explains. 

Core task: being out there

Outside, the weather is showing its autumnal side. Persistent rain and much lower temperatures than in the past few days don't stop Manuela Jeker and Adriana Ruzek from seeking out people in public spaces. "That's the core of our work," state both emphatically. It's about building trust and relationships and getting hold of people where they are. So it also means visiting them in the evening or where they sleep at night. "The problems often don't start until after 10 pm at night," says Manuela Jeker. "At that time, we people from Schwarzer Peter are the only ones still out there." The two co-directors are accompanied by Mats Müller, another member of the management team. They set off together. Street work calls, as it does every day when they are out there in Basel's disadvantaged public spaces. They only know their target areas at the head of the Dreirosenbrücke and at Claraplatz. They don't know what awaits them.

Poverty goes unrecognised

The Schwarzer Peter project can look back on 40 years. The association will celebrate its anniversary in December 2023. Manuela has been on board for 12 years, with brief interruptions. When asked whether her work has changed over time, she replies: "Basically, no." What has changed is the clientele, says the graduate social worker and mother of two teenagers. "The people who use our advice are much more of a mixed bunch nowadays." Poverty, she says, is not recognisable as such at first glance. This message also comes across from the image of the small crowd that forms in front of the office shortly before the doors open for the consulting hours. I am astonished. 

Slipping into poverty

Figures from the charity organisation Caritas are also consistent with this. "In 2021, 745,000 people in Switzerland were affected by poverty. If you include those living just above the poverty line, the number is almost double that. 1.25 million people are considered to be at risk of poverty," the website states. Adriana Ruzek is also worried about such developments. "Poverty is often the beginning of a vicious circle." The dangerous side effects: "Addiction, social isolation, loneliness and illness are part of the lives of most of the people who come to us," says the career changer and mother of two teenagers. Before joining Schwarzer Peter, she worked in a senior management position in the communications industry. She has been in charge of finances and fundraising at Schwarzer Peter for 14 years. "Today, people slip into the poverty and addiction trap very quickly." It doesn't take much. A divorce, debt, an accident or losing a job are enough.

Lack of social safety nets

"Poverty isn't an individual problem, but a structural one," Mats Müller confirms. He is also a co-director of Schwarzer Peter. It's usually the result of social conditions that those affected are virtually unable to influence. "The slide is a combination of various factors," emphasises the Head of Professional Affairs. What annoys him most is that society isolates these people very quickly. Intolerance and stigmatisation are on the rise. "Neither employers nor families are safety nets these days." In Switzerland, poverty is often concealed. "The victims include an above-average number of single parents and people with little education," says Mats Müller. And yes, including many migrants. Social contacts were lost, connecting with society was becoming increasingly difficult, there were no prospects. The number of unreported cases is high. What he can say is that a conspicuous number of men go to Schwarzer Peter or have their permanent registration address at a post office. Women find a solution more quickly, according to Mats. "But often under very bad conditions." 

Sad news

Be open to anyone who is in a crisis or doesn't know where to turn at the moment. That's Schwarzer Peter's credo in brief. We meet Jürg Holzherr at Claraplatz. "Schwarzer Peter always lends a sympathetic ear. The last time it helped me was when the social welfare office refused to make a payment," Jürg Holzherr states. He was a tram driver for over 14 years until a shoulder injury first put him out of action and then threw him off balance. He never got over it. Most recently, he worked as a cleaner until he received an invalidity pension. Jürg makes a fit and healthy impression this afternoon. But that's deceptive. A few days after this conversation comes the sad news that he has died of heart failure. Jürg Holzherr highlights the fact that he was on the streets a lot despite having a home. "Beer just tastes better in company."

Making encounters possible

It's sad news like this that sometimes makes Manuela and Adriana lose faith. However, the two are convinced that their work is worthwhile. They have learnt to focus on the "quick wins". "Otherwise, we couldn't do all this," they both add. The structural problems can't be solved. That's not Schwarzer Peter's job, nor is helping people out of addiction. But you've already achieved a lot if you can put a smile on the client's face or help with triage.  Sometimes it's the little things that help, and Schwarzer Peter's job is to make encounters possible. For example with "Lysa Büchel's Garden". A meeting and cultural space at St. Johann railway station. "The cultural centre is run jointly with Schwarzer Peter visitors and volunteers from the local community." Events are held from time to time, and in addition to a meeting room there is a workshop and "an Urban Gardening Project outside, where vegetables are grown," says Manuela.

Schwarzer Peter in numbers (end of 2022)

«Street Credibility» 

"You have to like the people," says Adriana. A basic requirement for outreach work. And yes, you have to get involved in the work on the street. You learn to deal with people, she says, but also to distance yourself from them so that the situations don't consume you. You need a lot of "street cred". "People soon realise whether we're credible or not," states Manuela Jeker emphatically. There's a wide span between being empathetic and setting boundaries. "Building a relationship is key." Especially for people who are new to living in public spaces. Manuela talks about a 30-year-old woman: within a few weeks, you wouldn't have known her for the same person. "The people who come to us are often already in a precarious situation, and once on the street they deteriorate very quickly, both physically and mentally." 

Established as a specialist centre

But the street workers are not just important contacts for their direct clientele. They are also in regular contact with the Basel authorities, in particular with the residents' registration office, the social welfare office and the police. "Homelessness is not recorded by the authorities," explains Adriana Ruzek. For this reason, a registration centre was set up in consultation with the residents' registration office. "Around 350 people are currently registered with us so that they can receive letters and other correspondence." The prerequisite: the people must have been living in Basel already. The two co-directors describe their collaboration with the authorities as exemplary. Likewise with the police. They both stress that "this increases mutual understanding". At all events, the association has established itself as a professional centre in the 40 years of its existence. The street workers' opinion is frequently called on. For example, at the most recent round table on drugs. "The drug scene is spreading again at Matthäusplatz." A strain on the neighbourhood and the population, which, as in the 1990s, is seeking a broad consensus in combating the problem.

No regulatory and drug policy  

Adriana and Manuela are familiar with this. "A problem arises suddenly that needs to be solved quickly." Even though Schwarzer Peter's work is neither of a regulatory nor of a drug policy nature, "we are regularly approached". Because people who stake their claim on public spaces aren't always viewed positively, Schwarzer Peter can contribute to a joint solution. Manuela Jeker says that experience has shown this, for example in the recent situation with the large number of Romanian beggars. "We are the ones who approach these people and seek dialogue." Schwarzer Peter will therefore still be needed in another five years' time. "The poverty trap is showing signs of increasing, it's impossible to get rid of the drug issue, and there's no remedy for alcohol use," says Adriana Ruzek. The city's socially disadvantaged areas will go on making headlines in the future. "Often under different circumstances," says Jeker. For example, the newly emerged drug scene in the Matthäusquartier or the area at the head of the Dreirosenbrücke, where the dense concentration of people inevitably leads to conflicts of use. Not only are drugs consumed and sold here, but it's also a place where refugees without residence status and unemployed people hang out, passing the time on the benches with cans of beer. In amongst them are people doing gymnastics on the sports equipment, shooting hoops on the basketball court or picnicking on the grass while their children splash around in the pool. "Our job is to build a relationship with the people who use the public spaces," say Manuela Jeker and Adriana Ruzek. This, they say, takes a lot of dialogue. "The issues remain", but agility and prompt answers are needed. Schwarzer Peter is well known for those.

Team Schwarzer Peter

www.schwarzerpeter.ch