Caritas launches winter space to ease cold and loneliness

Caritas will open a warm meeting space in St. Pölten in December for people seeking company or relief from poverty and isolation, ORF reports. The WirkRaum, a community space, will offer a place to warm up and meet others during the winter months.

From Monday to Thursday, visitors can take part in activities including shared meals, cooking and creative projects. Volunteers will help run the programme, which is scheduled to continue until February. Caritas says the aim is to create warmth through community as well as through a heated room.

The offer is open to anyone who wants to meet people, with particular attention to those affected by poverty or loneliness.

The project comes as Austria debates a planned reform of social assistance, due to take effect in January 2027. The federal government wants to standardise the different rules used by the states. Caritas secretary general Christoph Riedl criticised the speed of the process, saying it raised democratic concerns and showed a lack of understanding of the lives of people in poverty.

Caritas also fears the reform could increase poverty, especially among children, and says the proposed child benefit rates are too low. Riedl said a family with three minor children would currently receive less than 185 euros per child per month, while a family with four would receive 154 euros per child. That money must cover food, clothing, school supplies, transport and participation in society, he said.

Caritas has called for child benefit rates to be raised within the available limits. It also wants social assistance that ensures people can meet their basic needs, as well as accessible, adequately funded services to support people into work and social participation.