A competitive situation over a property has turned into a partnership with numerous winners: PiB – Pflegekinder in Bremen and the traveling werkschule schollen (rws) have moved into their new offices at Alte Hafenstraße 67–70 in Bremen-Vegesack and are thus pooling their resources in Bremen-Vegesack.
Both organizations are members of the Paritätische Bremen (a social welfare organization) and support children, young people, and families in various life situations. PiB is the specialist service for foster care and child day care in Bremen, with offices. The reisende werkschule (a mobile workshop) is a child and youth welfare organization offering, among other things, outpatient family support, supported living for young people, a crisis intervention service, and various programs for couples and children experiencing separation and divorce in Bremen and Lower Saxony.
Complementary skills
Independently of each other, both organizations had been searching for new office and seminar space in Vegesack last year. The new building on Alte Hafenstraße proved to be an ideal location for both. Instead of competing with each other, they started talking and decided to cooperate. "The challenges in child and youth welfare are becoming increasingly complex. This makes it all the more important to work together, pool resources, and learn from each other," says Judith Pöckler-von Lingen, Managing Director of PiB.
Today, PiB and the traveling workshop school work under one roof. In addition to their own offices, they share seminar, group, and playrooms. These spaces are used flexibly for training courses, consultations, supervised visits, and events. Short distances and the proximity of their work areas create ideal conditions for professional exchange and new forms of collaboration. The goal is to create a vibrant space where knowledge is shared and synergies are utilized. "The open doors of these shared spaces represent active cooperation. Outpatient family and youth services and the support of foster families are brought together here, both physically and professionally," says Manuela Krämer, Pedagogical Director (rws) in Vegesack.
Innovative: Fostering family through educational leave
This collaboration also reflects a shared commitment: social work must be open to change and explore new avenues. For example, PiB is continuously developing its information and educational programs: In June, the educational program "When Children Cannot Live with Their Parents – Foster Care" was offered for the first time in cooperation with the educational provider wisoak. This program allows interested individuals to engage intensively with foster care within a week, without loss of pay or vacation time, and to consider whether they can envision themselves becoming a foster family. Due to the positive response, the program will be repeated at wisoak in Vegesack at the beginning of November. Interested individuals can still register.
More information about both organizations can be found at pib-bremen.de and reisende-werkschule.de.