Kaufbeuren - Ralf Sander was head of the day care center for mental health for almost 25 years.
At the end of August, the 62-year-old finished his work in the Diakonie facility.
When the qualified social pedagogue (FH) started his service at the Diakonisches Werk Augsburg (DWA) in 1996, the day care centers were still a new phenomenon in the out-of-hospital care of mentally ill people: The facility in Bismarckstrasse opened in February 1997 and was only the second of their kind in the Swabian district. In the meantime, the low-threshold contact points have become an indispensable part of the network of community psychiatric help.
The day care center in Kaufbeuren is the oldest under the sponsorship of the DWA. Started with 20 places, the number was soon increased to 27. Up to 70 visitors came during weddings. 44 people are currently registered. Due to the hygiene measures that still apply, however, a maximum of 16 visitors can come at the same time, either in the morning or in the afternoon. Everyone arranges their visit to the facility individually according to their personal needs and capabilities: "We pick people up from where they are," says Sander.
Born in Mannheim, he had already gained his first experience with mentally ill people during his studies in the mid-1980s when he was doing a long internship at the Kaufbeuren district hospital. One of the positive things about the concept of the day care centers is that the visit is not limited in time: some visitors come for a year or two, others use the offer for a bridging period of three to four months. And two or three people have been there for almost as long as Sander himself. The proportion of men and women has remained roughly equal over the years. On the other hand, the age structure has changed: there are more younger people, “who cannot cope with the pressure to perform in society,” says Sander, who continues to see a need for education, both in society and among relatives.If the own family does not recognize a mental illness as such, it is an additional burden for many of those affected. On the other hand, there are also caring families who are very “willing to make sacrifices” and who have to be encouraged to “allow outside help,” says Sander: “But that's the minority.”
Encounter opportunities created
He also observes a certain “threshold fear” in other people when it comes to mental illnesses.
Exceptions are the bicycle workshop, where customers bring their bikes for repairs, or the bookstore, which has a base of loyal customers.
Sander and his team try to create opportunities for encounters with campaigns such as the book market or the Christmas tree sale, where employees and visitors to the daycare center deliver trees in the city for an extra charge.
Before the pandemic, the Repair Café was also a great success, which has been held monthly in the daycare center since the beginning of 2018 in cooperation with the senior citizens' advisory board of the city of Kaufbeuren.
“I put all my heart and soul into the day care center,” Sander sums up.
Until recently he trained his successor Brigitte Helminger.
Sander is now looking forward to more time with the family - which includes his wife, four adult children and a grandchild - for cycling, hiking and traveling.
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