Silke Hörold-Ries has been the senior citizens' representative in the city council for four years. There she also reported on the Aktivtreff and her consulting activities.
Erding – Games, lectures, excursions, readings, walks: The city's active meeting place for seniors provides variety. Silke Hörold-Ries has now presented the diversity of the offer in the House of Encounter to the city council.
The Senior Citizens' Representative has been in office since spring 2019. The approach at the time was that older people should be able to stay in their familiar surroundings for as long as possible and lead a self-determined life. This is not the only way Hörold-Ries supports the older generation. On Mondays from 8 a.m. to 14 p.m. she can be found in the House of Encounter at Rätschenbach. There she has an open ear for seniors, refers a problem to the responsible offices in the town hall, district office or associations.
After just a few months, she realized: "The demand for a meeting place without compulsion to consume was great. That's why we launched the Aktivtreff in August 2019," Hörold-Ries reported. There, seniors can meet in the café on Mondays from 9 a.m. At 11 a.m., a wide variety of events will take place regularly - and all free of charge.
In the meantime, a games meeting place has also established itself in Klettham - every Friday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. "We want to establish a Schafkopf round in the summer," Hörold-Ries announces. At first, no one knew how the card game worked, "but now I've found someone. I'm curious to see what will come of it."
The active meeting is very important and popular, says the senior citizens' representative. Among other things, there were lectures by the Weltladen (fair trade), the municipal utilities (energy saving) or the police (the topic of grandchild tricks), but also PowerPoint presentations designed by seniors themselves. "They are involved and can talk about their hobbies, biographies or travels," Hörold-Ries explained.
Digital participation is also a popular topic at the Aktivtreff. For courses such as "Fit with Smartphone and Tablet", which are offered in cooperation with the adult education centre, "there are so many registrations that we can offer courses all year round". Hörold-Ries also works with the district office, the Catholic Educational Institute and the Office for Agriculture. And with the police and traffic patrol, there was an e-bike training last year. This year, she is still planning events on the subject of creating photo books and digital legacies.
She is not only the city's senior citizens' representative, but also deputy head of the city library, which is located right next to the House of Encounter. And if it gets too crowded at events, you can easily go to the library.
Mayor Max Götz (CSU) and the city councillors were pleased with Hörold-Ries' diverse activity report. "It is important that the house is lively," Götz emphasized, praising the appropriate choice of topics. Walter Rauscher (CSU) also wanted a first aid course for seniors. "We already had it outside at the BRK," explained the senior citizens' representative, "but we're happy to do it again."
Deputy Mayor Petra Bauernfeind, who is also the city council's senior citizens' officer, emphasized the strong networking of Hörold-Ries. "That's what distinguishes their work." Bauernfeind also did not forget to recall Jutta Harrer, her predecessor as senior citizens' officer, who had once built up the work with senior citizens.
Leon Kozica (SPD) asked whether decentralised events in other parts of the city would also be possible. "I would also like to establish something in Altenerding, such as a game morning, but that's difficult because of the location," Hörold-Ries replied. It was also able to take away Walter Koppe's (Die Linke) fear that interested people would be excluded who are not yet considered seniors in terms of age. "I don't do ID checks," she said. So far, she has only had to send people away "because there was no more space".
Contact: Tel. (0 81 22) 408-108 or by e-mail to seniorenberatung@erding.de
