Kiosk of Solidarity X Bahnhofsviertel

Dezentrale Aktion zu akzeptierender Suchthilfe

Addiction support services in Frankfurt’s Bahnhofsviertel are concentrated within just a few streets, particularly Niddastraße, Karlsplatz, and Taunusstraße. This spatial concentration has created urban zones where places to stay, low-threshold support services, and informal trading structures overlap.

At the same time, these locations have come to define the public perception of the Bahnhofsviertel. Media coverage, and increasingly social media channels, use images from these streets to construct narratives about drug use and the neighborhood—most often speaking about the people who use these spaces rather than with them.

During a workshop with clients and staff of K9, a low-threshold support facility operated by the Association for Work and Educational Assistance (Verein Arbeits- und Erziehungshilfe e.V., vae), participants identified the spatial concentration itself as a key issue. People whose substance use becomes visible elsewhere in the city are frequently directed to the Bahnhofsviertel. As a result, presence, drug use, and the resulting conflicts over the use of public space become concentrated within a very limited area. This development is in the interests of neither the people who rely on support services, nor the addiction support organizations, local residents, or businesses in the neighborhood.

Based on the outcomes of the workshop, a concept for a more decentralized approach to addiction support was developed and is now being tested through the Kiosk of Solidarity. The mobile kiosk activates public spaces such as Wiesenhüttenplatz, Baseler Platz, François Mitterrand Square, and parts of the Taunusanlage. At these locations, heat-protection kits, harm reduction materials, and information are distributed, while conversations are initiated with both local residents and people who use drugs. The aim is to collaboratively explore new perspectives on a decentralized model of addiction support—one that improves accessibility, reduces pressure on existing gathering places, and reimagines public space as a shared social environment.