Women experiencing homelessness often remain invisible in traditional support systems. Dusseldorf’s Ariadne initiative was designed to change this, combining a 24/7 women-only emergency shelter, special accommodation for mothers, and the easy-access Café Ariadne. Clarissa Loch, the city’s Head of Homelessness Counselling Services, explains how Ariadne is protecting vulnerable women and helping them break cycles of poverty.

“We wanted to offer more…”

In Germany, municipalities are legally required to provide emergency shelter for those experiencing homelessness, but the law does not set standards for what that shelter must look like.

“A room with ten women sharing one bathroom would be enough to meet the legal requirements,” says Clarissa. “We wanted to offer more than that.”

Ariadne was built on the understanding that women’s homelessness is shaped by overlapping experiences of discrimination, violence and exclusion, and that support needs to reflect this. Working in partnership with Diakonie Dusseldorf, the city developed an integrated model that goes beyond emergency accommodation: connecting women to housing, healthcare, social benefits and legal support, while providing the stability they need to take those first steps towards independence.

“Our goal is to interrupt and reverse the cycle of poverty. Ariadne is a place for women to regain their strength and rebuild their lives.”

A 360° approach designed for women

From the outset, it was clear that the space itself had to feel different than traditional mix-gender shelters. Working with an interior architect, Ariadne was designed to be bright, welcoming and nothing like a typical emergency shelter.

“Suddenly, there were women coming who would never have accepted help before,” says Clarissa. “Because it felt safe. Because it looked nice.”

The women who come to Ariadne are extraordinarily diverse. Young women who’ve left home for the first time, mothers who separated from their partner but were not named on the lease agreement, older women who lost their home after a spouse’s death, women experiencing mental illness or substance use issues. What many share, Clarissa notes, is the absence of a social safety net.

“Most of the time, the part that is missing is friends or family they can turn to first. That is why they need the help here.”

The elements of Ariadne are designed to work as a system. Women sleeping rough who are not yet ready for a shelter will often stop by Café Ariadne first, a safe space to have a coffee and connect with others. Over time, social workers at the café can build trust and gently encourage them towards the shelter. It works the other way too: women already staying at the shelter have a comfortable, familiar space to spend their days without having to navigate the city alone.

Café Ariadne is also practically significant. Women can access counselling, basic healthcare and digital connectivity under one roof, helping them manage appointments, housing applications and job searches without the stress of travelling between multiple services. They can also register a postal address there, a small but crucial detail in Germany’s bureaucratic system, where having an official address is often the first requirement for accessing any form of state support.

For mothers and children, Ariadne goes one step further. The “Little Ariadne” shelter provides a secluded, family-friendly space within the initiative, recognising that homelessness for mothers carries distinct risks for both themselves and their children. In the most recent reporting period, Little Ariadne accommodated 34 mothers and 70 children, including 20 pregnant women who gave birth during their stay.

Breaking the stigma

One of the biggest barriers Ariadne faces is not practical but psychological. “The first thing people say to us when they are first homeless is: I can’t go to an emergency shelter. I am not like that. I am not a homeless person,” says Clarissa. Addressing this means both explaining the reality of the shelter and letting the building speak for itself. “When people go there for the first time, they see: it’s not as bad as I thought.”

The design is not just about aesthetics. It actively shapes behaviour. Clarissa points to scientific evidence that people treat beautiful spaces with more care and respect than neglected ones.

“If you are in a place that is really beautiful, you feel safer, you respect it more, you don’t want to disrupt it. And that is exactly what we see at Ariadne. There is very little vandalism.”

For municipalities worried about the cost, Clarissa is pragmatic. Ariadne achieves the best results in getting women back into their own homes, which is ultimately the cheapest long-term outcome for any city. There is also a common misconception, she argues, that making a shelter unattractive motivates people to leave faster.

“That is wrong, and our numbers prove it.” A high standard of care, it turns out, is not a luxury. It is what makes the whole system work. “A lot of people think it’s going to be vandalised within a week. But it’s not like that.”

Real lives, real change

The impact of Ariadne is best illustrated by the women it has reached. One of Clarissa’s most memorable cases is an 84-year-old woman with a severe mental illness who had been sleeping rough for over two years. Many people in the local community had raised concerns about her, but she had consistently refused help.

Through patient outreach work, she was gradually introduced to Café Ariadne first, then shown the rooms of the shelter. She is now living there, with a roof over her head for the first time in years. “She still has a mental illness,” Clarissa acknowledges, “but she is doing really, really well.”

For Clarissa and her team, the moments that never lose their impact are the ones where a woman moves into her own flat. “It is always, always a really wonderful moment.”

Since the opening of the integrated Ariadne service, admissions have risen from 335 women in 2021 to 514 in 2023, a figure that reflects not just growing need but growing trust in the service.

Lessons across borders

Ariadne did not emerge in isolation. Cities like Vienna and London have long recognised that women experiencing homelessness face different risks than men, and have built dedicated services to reflect this. Dusseldorf drew on these experiences when developing its own model, adapting the principles to suit its local context rather than replicating any single programme.

Clarissa insists the city-to-city collaboration has been vital to their success. “We work every day in the same system. We know how it works, but we have to remember to look outside for inspiration, too,” she says.

For example, a visit to Zaragoza proved eye-opening. The city runs inclusive cafés open to both homeless people and local residents, an approach that does not exist in Germany.

“I would never have thought about it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Working with other cities broadens your view of what is possible.”

A key moment came in 2024, when Dusseldorf presented Ariadne at the Eurocities Working Group on Homelessness mutual learning session on gendered aspects of homelessness, attended by cities including Vienna and London. Discussions ranged from trauma-informed support for domestic violence survivors in Braga to gender-sensitive services at Lyon’s Le Tambour.

For other cities looking to replicate Ariadne’s approach, Clarissa’s message is straightforward: gender-sensitive homelessness services do not require building an entirely new system. Creating safe, welcoming spaces and strengthening partnerships with civil society organisations can significantly expand what already exists.

—

Dusseldorf’s Ariadne shelter is one of the shortlisted ‘City Initiatives’ at the Eurocities Awards 2026. You can view the full awards shortlist here.

The winners will be announced at the Eurocities Annual Conference in Utrecht, 8-10 June 2026. Register for the Annual Conference to join the ceremony.

Photos copyright City of Dusseldorf.