Zurich (CH) * 1994 * Shedhalle * 8 weeks

In Zurich a shelter for female sex wokers struggling with drug use issues was established. For six years, the facility provided a place to sleep for women who needed to get some rest during the day.

In 1994, WochenKlausur was invited by Shedhalle Zurich to realize a project. At the time of the project, Switzerland was in the early pre-election period for the parliamentary elections and social welfare organizations were being denounced by conservative and right-wing parties for their more liberal drug policies. The city responded by reducing social services for those who were struggling with drug issues, which particularly affected women who financed their drug use through sex work. These women were mostly homeless, had few rights, and were often subjected to violence and humiliations by pimps, clients, and dealers. They had nowhere to sleep or retreat undisturbed, as homeless shelters were only open at night, which was precisely when the women were working. Thus, they slept during the day in parks, backyards, doorways and public restrooms. WochenKlausur therefore planned to establish a daytime shelter where these women could rest undisturbed and which would be inaccessible to clients and pimps.

An effective strategy had to be created and implemented in order to obtain support for this planned intervention from all those who were decision makers in this context or had influence on politics and the public:
Four experts each from the fields of drug issues, politics, media, and judiciary were to be invited on a small boat trip on Lake Zurich to exchange their views and information privately. Within two weeks, 15 boat trips were organized, with a total of sixty participants: all party secretaries of the Swiss parties, the president of the Zurich city council, four city councilors, two chief public prosecutors, the editors-in-chief of the most well-known Swiss newspapers, police directors, and experts in medicine, prevention, and therapy. The results of the discussions included progress on detailed issues such as the distribution of drugs to AIDS patients or legal representation of affected individuals by social workers. Above all, the boat trips served WochenKlausur in supporting the realization of the planned women's shelter. The group members spoke with all participants before and after the trip about this concept and were able to persuade them. This successfully secured political and media backing for the project.

Of course, it was not easy to get well-known representatives from the respective fields on board, but as with many WochenKlausur projects, a strategic approach was taken: First, the president of the city council (mayor) was invited with the suggestion that his colleague, the SP party secretary, would participate only if he, the president, also joined. Flattered, the president agreed, and half an hour later, the same approach succeeded with the party secretary. Since the ruling SP participated, the other parties agreed as well, and naturally, the media followed suit.

At the same time, a suitable house was rented and furnished with initial donations. However, the women's shelter could not and should not operate without public funding. After some negotiations, the city, the canton, and the Federal Office of Public Health agreed to cover two-thirds of the costs, with the remainder being raised privately. For six years, the shelter called ZORA with 30 beds was successfully operated until the city of Zurich withdrew its funding in 2001. Unfortunately, the shelter could no longer be financed with the remaining funds alone.