There are people who have to spend the Christmas holidays alone.
For this reason, the Wolfratshausen City Church offers pastoral care by telephone.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen
- Christmas is the festival of love.
This year, against the background of the corona pandemic, many families are moving even closer together.
But there are also people who spend the holidays all alone within their four walls.
“Many feel lonely and are looking for someone to talk to,” says Wolfratshauser deacon Christian Horak.
For this reason, the city church offers a pastoral care telephone (01 51/59 40 74 90) during the Christmas holidays.
"We are there for people who want to exchange ideas, want to talk about their worries and who lack a conversation partner," says Horak.
The deacon hopes that those affected will manage to take the phone in hand "and they can trust that there are people in our church who care about the suffering and worries of their fellow human beings and we mean it honestly with them" .
The women's shelter is available around the clock
Not only the Wolfratshausen city church is there for the people on the holidays - the association Women Help Women has set up an emergency telephone (0 81 71/1 86 80).
Women who suffer from domestic violence or oppression by their partner can “contact us day and night”, assures Sandra Gmeiner, vice-head of the non-profit association that runs the women's refuge in the district.
According to Gmeiner, the number of calls fluctuates from year to year.
Also because “because the families or the partner are in the house and shouldn't hear anything about the call,” Gmeiner knows.
Anyone who calls anyway and needs immediate help will be provided with a safe place to stay by the association - because the women's shelter, whose address is kept secret, is currently completely occupied.
"But we definitely take care of every caller," promises Gmeiner in an interview with our newspaper.
Some are simply looking for someone to tell about their fears for themselves and their relatives. "
Elke Holzer, board member of the Christophorus Hospice Association
The head of the police inspection in Geretsried, Franz Schöttl, knows that domestic violence cases increase on several consecutive public holidays: "People sit on top of each other for days, and this sometimes leads to arguments, which unfortunately escalate," says Schöttl.
The police operations in private apartments are “not exorbitantly more” than usual on Christmas days, “but the trend is clearly noticeable”.
On the other hand, there are fewer other crimes at Christmas, "there are no abnormalities", the Geretsried police chief states.
Schöttl emphasizes: “The police can of course be reached at any time”.
It looks a little different at the Christophorus Hospice Association in the district.
However, board member Elke Holzer promises: "We don't have a phone that is manned around the clock, but we definitely call back every caller." At the hospice association (phone 0 81 71/99 91 55), which is based in Geretsried entertains, according to Holzer, it's not just people who have concerns about the subject of death and euthanasia: "Some are also simply looking for someone to whom they can tell about their fears for themselves and their relatives." Because of the confidentiality that all employees of the Association, and the preservation of anonymity, "most callers find it relatively easy to speak openly about their existential fears," says Holzer.
Those who live in a homeless shelter do not have to worry about the holidays.
The homeless representative of the city of Wolfratshausen, Ines Lobenstein, can only be spoken in person in the coming days in an acute emergency.
"Most of the time, this is not necessary," says Lobenstein from years of experience.
"As a rule, people stay in their apartments" - and she emphasizes: "Everyone is taken care of with us." (Dst)
Also read: This is how the rehearsal for the nativity play in Wolfratshausen went two years ago.
