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WIEGE- reconstruction of the market garden at the former Blockland youth detention centre

The market garden

More than six years ago, the prison at Blockland was closed down, and the youth detention responsibilities were taken over by Oslebshausen prison. The facility, which was built in 1966, is now to be used in the interest of Gröpelingen district. As part of the project entitled WIEGE, some of the dilapidated buildings and areas of the former prison are to be returned to agricultural and horticultural use in order to offer training and employment projects for offenders.

Resocialisation and reintegration into the labour market

The restored market garden will be used in future by the Knastgewächse scheme. Offenders will have the opportunity to obtain vocational qualifications in agriculture or horticulture here. This should greatly improve their prospects of resocialisation and reintegration into the labour market.

In a further planning stage, it is intended that the scheme will market the agricultural produce cultivated there. The services for the offenders will be backed by targeted support from youth and community workers and the members of the transitional management team based there. The training and employment project will be financed entirely from the federal BIWAQ project, and does not form part of the WIEGE project.

Objective

The WIEGE project supports the objectives of the ERDF programme in strand 2.1: helping particularly disadvantaged urban areas with difficulties. This is the case in the district of Gröpelingen in combination with the prison. Many of the offenders settle in the district after their release and have problems finding a regular job again. The WIEGE project and the related training and employment project will facilitate the reintegration of offenders and improve the social reception for former convicts.

At the same time, the WIEGE project is only a first step. There are also plans to provide stakeholders with a link to the district and to labour market policy with a base on the site which can particularly be used to provide advice and services to former offenders.

Major pillars of the work in the district, such as Kultur vor Ort e.V. and Gröpelinger Marketing (funded from the ERDF) as well as the Bürgerhaus Oslebshausen are already represented on the site of the former Blockland youth detention centre. Local organisations and organisations related to the justice system like Hoppenbank e.V., Quirl e.V. and Gröpelinger Recycling Initiative can be integrated relatively easily, and will help to improve the image of the site and the new developments. The aim is to improve the anchoring and integration of the prison in the district and the immediate neighbourhood. Various measures and projects aim to improve relations between the prison and the district.

Area of impact: Place of implementation Total project volume (ERDF Programme): of which public-sector funding: of which ERDF funding:
BremenBremen, district Gröpelingen50.000€ 50.000€25.000€[

[LISTE Contact:

Mr. Bonnet

Ministry of Economics, Labour and Ports
Division 23

Contrescarpe 72
28195 Bremen