Photo: WERKstattSCHULE Heidelberg

With its youth program LÄUFT?!, the organization WERKstattSCHULE focuses on school dropouts and other NEET (not in employment, education, or training) youth, who are referred to the program by the youth welfare agency. Often, these young people have not only a difficult family background, but also first-hand experience with homelessness, drugs, or juvenile delinquency.  The goal of the project is to provide them with much-needed security and educational opportunities.

The LÄUFT?! team is especially focused on establishing relationships and building trust. The staff offer numerous opportunities, but never force the 15- to 25-year-olds into rigid structures. The educators, artists, and craftspeople who work in the program instead focus on community experiences, outings, and practical and creative work. They have found a suitable space for the program in a historical former railway depot near the Heidelberg train station. The landmarked historical building provides space for the program’s offices and workshops. Here, the young people can work with wood and stone, build furniture or playground equipment, and develop independent ideas.

A number of raised wooden gardening beds are the practical result of one such idea. Since the summer, home-grown cucumbers, tomatoes, and pumpkins as well as herbs have been thriving in the beds. The young people are entirely responsible for the garden, from planting to harvest. Some of them use the program kitchen to turn the harvested produce into lunch for the whole group. Their idea is producing other fruit, as well: at the moment, the hobby chefs are writing their own cookbook – and making clear that learning involves not just heads, but also hearts, hands, and feet.

Hendrikje Lorenz, managing director of WERKstattSCHULE, is convinced of the value of this hands-on educational approach. She has seen its effectiveness in another area, as well: “This year, three of our young people very successfully earned their secondary school certificates,” she explains. “They met here regularly to study and to work up their motivation before exams. After the exams, they would come back to the project to tell us how it went.” This makes clear, said Lorenz, how much footing and stability the staff and group are able to provide.

In addition to LÄUFT?!, WERKstattSCHULE also offers workshops and career orientation weeks at countless schools in the area. At the moment, around 70 different cooperative partnerships are in place for providing training in practical, technical, and skilled craftsmanship work.