Foundation director Myriam Mersch-Zimmer, Weiler-la-Tour Mayor Vincent Reding, and foundation president and MP Maurice Bauer inspecting the new women's shelter in Syren.
A former school in Syren is being transformed into a shelter for women in distress, as part of a partnership between Weiler-la-Tour and a foundation to provide housing and support for victims of domestic abuse.
The 'Maison de la Porte Ouverte' foundation – which aims to help people in distress through social support and psychological, legal, and educational assistance – has partnered with the municipality of Weiler-la-Tour to offer shelter to women in need. Those forced to seek shelter often come from difficult backgrounds involving domestic abuse, with their children also suffering under mistreatment in certain cases.
For this purpose, Mayor Vincent Reding has made a former school building, located in the small town of Syren, available to the foundation. Here, Maison de la Porte Ouverte, which translates to House of the Open Door, provides support in phases.
The first phase is about facing the problem and requires victims to undergo the necessary separation from an abusive relationship. The shelter in Syren then steps in to provide support in the second phase, allowing women to renew their lives by offering housing as a transitionary period towards independence, the third and final phase of the process.
At the moment, the foundation's discussion group, called 'infoFemmes', manages 58 apartments with a social rent. In conversation with RTL, foundation director Myriam Mersch-Zimmer underscored the importance of a solid institutional network and highlighted children's education as an important step towards re-integration.
Mayor Vincent Reding expressed his gratitude to the municipal council for approving his proposal, stressing his commitment to this issue thanks to his professional background in youth protection. Furthermore, he praises Syren as the ideal village for such a project, thus investing €800,000 in the remodelling of the former school, an initiative partly financed by the state.
Weiler-la-Tour has already made four other spaces available to house two women and two children.
Foundation president Maurice Bauer, MP of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV), expressed his satisfaction with the project and stressed the importance of giving women in need a chance to start anew.
The Maison de la Porte Ouverte foundation, created in 1971, supports 400 to 500 women per year, highlighting the need for such shelters in Luxembourg.
