Bebra is fighting with millions of deficit: Future of social sponsorship facilities in danger!

Bebra is fighting with millions of deficit: Future of social sponsorship facilities in danger!

in Bebra, a city in the heart of Hesse, the financial situation of the social sponsorship facilities is becoming more and more precarious. Managing Director Ulrich Völke, press spokeswoman Jutta Konetzka and the former commercial managing director Thomas Deppenkemper take the concerns about the institutions seriously, which have shown a deficit of around 2.7 million euros since 2023. With a main location on Bebraer Fröbelweg, those responsible are faced with the challenge of renovating it for almost 8 million euros, while at the same time the operating costs for the care of over 1000 people and 430 employees continue to increase.

The operation of the social support facilities is not endangered, but the income from contracts with service providers have not increased to the same extent as the personnel costs. Völke gave the all -clear and expressed hope of reaching a "black zero" for 2025, depending on the ongoing negotiations. Especially since the new regulations of the State Welfare Association (LWV), which provide for a settlement per person and minute, have additional challenges.

challenges through financing rules

The regulations have made it difficult for the association. The total costs for the care of people with disabilities have increased by 39 percent to a total of 2.1 billion euros. In view of this development, decisions were necessary: ​​20 employees had to vacate their positions in disabled workshops, which, however, “at most a third” of the affected positions, while the rest of the dismissals count as normal fluctuation.

The utilization of the workshops is currently 86 percent, which leads to overcapacity and the situation is also complicated. Despite the recourse to reserves for the financing of new buildings on Kerschensteinerstrasse, this burdens the liquidity of the association. The members of the management, under the chairmanship of District Administrator Torsten Warnecke (SPD), are very concerned about the future of social support facilities, which were founded in 1974 and celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2023.

crisis of the social infrastructure in Germany

Not only the facilities in Bebra fight with these challenges. The Welfare Associations AWO, Diakonie Germany and Paritätische warn in a current survey of a threatening collapse of the social infrastructure in Germany. The survey, which was carried out between September 29 and October 10, 2023, shows that 40 percent of the organizations surveyed had to restrict or hire their offers due to financial problems. A trend can also be observed here: almost every third facility plans to reduce personnel or have already been layoffs.

The financial problems are considered serious, because the reality lived looks in such a way that the average costs of the institutions surveyed have increased by 16 percent since the beginning of 2022. The possibility to compensate for this increase through higher user contributions is largely exhausted, which leaves financial holes. 65 percent of the organizations fear short -term reductions in their offers, which could be a serious consequence for social cohesion.

As the situation in Bebra shows, these challenges coincide not only with local, but also with national trends. Around 377,112 people are advised, looked after or cared for in the participating organizations that employ over 261,721 people every day. If the social infrastructure breaks, the entire community suffers - there is a lot.

Mayor Stefan Knoche emphasizes the importance of the social sponsorships for his city and appeals to those responsible for taking support measures. This is the only way to master the future challenges of social work and secure the quality of the offers for the affected people.

• www.hna.de
• awo.org
• www.diakonie.de