Everyone can benefit from the offers of neighborhood help citizens for citizens. We present these in loose succession. Today: the asylum helpers.
- The Citizens for Citizens Association has existed for 30 years
- The group of asylum workers has been part of it for over a year
- The volunteers do a lot for integration
Wolfratshausen - Many cities experienced a wave of willingness to help five years ago: Hundreds of thousands of refugees arrived in Germany in 2015. And in almost every congregation a voluntary helpers group was founded to support the people in their new home. In Wolfratshausen this commitment is closely linked to one name: Ines Lobenstein, the municipality's homeless officer and Caritas employee, led the volunteers from day one. The asylum workers have been part of the Bürger für Bürger association for about a year.
The group of asylum workers has been part of it for a year
"We were such a large network that we couldn't have managed it without an association," explains Lobenstein. There were two options to choose from: a start-up as a “Helferkreis-Verein” or cooperation with neighborhood help. Shortly before, Peter Lobenstein, husband of the asylum worker, had taken over the chairmanship. In the end, the decision “was pretty obvious,” says Ines Lobenstein today. Since then, a lot has been said about social engagement at the Lobenstein's kitchen table. “It's nice for us,” says Ines Lobenstein.
German lessons, homework supervision and much more
And it is a task that takes up a lot of time: The helper group offers a wide range of offers: German lessons, homework supervision, a clothing store and integration events are just a small extract from the daily work that around 100 volunteer helpers are currently doing. “Most of us look after a family on a day-to-day basis,” reports Lobenstein. Letters from authorities help the volunteers to translate, and they accompany the asylum seekers when they go to work. If problems arise in their everyday life, their cell phone rings. "Our helpers do an incredible amount," says Lobenstein.
Also read: This is how senior citizens' aid works by citizens for citizens
The great wave of willingness to help has subsided, once 180 volunteers were active in the helpers. “But there are still a lot of people who are new and take on tasks,” reports Lobenstein. How important the work is that is done in the neighborhood aid citizen for citizen, recently became clear in the culture committee of the city council. “Without this group of helpers,” stressed Mayor Klaus Heilinglechner at the time, “we would certainly not be so well positioned.” Dst
