As of: March 13, 2024, 5:55 p.m
By: Natascha Berger, Sandra Sporer
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Janni from “Hartz und Herzen” is looking for a job.
The mother wants to get out of her “sloppy life” and the dependencies and prejudices associated with it.
Mannheim - When citizens' money was introduced, there was a heated debate about whether working was still worthwhile.
The trigger was that the unemployed now receive around 50 euros more.
However, one economist believes this concern is unfounded.
The discussions also often ignored how stigmatized unemployment is and the prejudices that recipients of citizens' benefit are confronted with.
Even if they are actively looking for a job.
The mother of three and citizen's benefit recipient Janni provided a striking example of this in the
RTL-ZWEI
series “Hartz und Herzen”.
Janni at “Hartz und cordial”: Single parent wants to go back to work soon
The documentary “Hartz und Herzen” shows the everyday lives of various people who are dependent on social assistance.
The team always returns to a social hot spot, the so-called Benz Barracks in Mannheim.
47-year-old Janni also lives here.
She is a mother of three and has been unemployed for three years.
Now she wants to get back into working life as quickly as possible.
“This sleazy life just isn’t for me,” she told the camera team.
Without work, it quickly happens that she lets herself go.
Janni has already had to make use of social benefits in the past: from 15 to 18 she received youth welfare, later temporarily Hartz IV and now citizen's benefit.
Janni (here left with her friend Katrin) hopes to soon find a job again after three years of being dependent on citizens' money.
© RTL2
The 47-year-old lives with her two youngest children.
After deducting rent and electricity costs, the single mother has around 1,200 euros per month.
Getting by with this money is not easy.
The family currently has to make do without a television connection.
Paying the bills comes first.
“Dependence is not something I support” – citizen benefit recipient explains how others react to her
Although Janni has been receiving social benefits for three years, she is dissatisfied with this situation.
“You are dependent on the state and dependence is not something I support because I want to do something myself,” she says.
Although she has now gotten used to having to ask for everything, she still doesn't feel comfortable with it.
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Especially because many people condemn the situation of welfare recipients.
“The moment you have nothing and ask someone, you are officially second class,” says the single parent.
Janni explains in “Hartz und Herzen” that many people react with shock when it comes to high debts or social assistance.
“I’m still human,” she says.
Some people are good with money, others are not.
Pressure of doing nothing: Citizen's benefit recipient reports depression
Janni hasn't had it easy in the past.
She grew up mainly in foster families and has been on her own since she was 15.
Since then she has always been busy, whether working or volunteering.
The Mannheim native most recently worked in the catering industry.
It was not clear in the interview scenes on RTL2 whether she would like to return to this industry after three years of unemployment.
However, she is now taking her job search “more seriously”.
Because doing nothing puts a psychological strain on Janni, like other welfare recipients.
“Then the depression comes because you just say to yourself: Great, that couldn’t have been it.”
A young mother, who is also one of the protagonists of the
RTL-ZWEI
series, recently made the step back into working life.
Another citizen's benefit recipient was less enthusiastic about working life.
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