The electricity is gone – christmas campaign helps

adminonJune 27, 2023July 8, 2023Leave a Comment

"What will happen next year is insane. The situation is already extremely tense, and it will get worse next year."What gabriele morath, social counselor at caritas, is aiming at is the announced increase in energy prices in general and electricity prices in particular: "there has been a frighteningly large need for advice and help." in the last time alone, six families with children were with her, where the power cut actually took place. And she knows of many cases in which a threat is issued. "It wasn't this massive last year."

Electricity supplier shuts itself off
Of course gabriele morath cannot pay the electricity bills of all these families and individuals. She can help people to find realistic payment models with the electricity suppliers. "One can still talk to the public utilities. But E.ON won't let anyone get close to them. There one lands always only in call centers with always different coworkers. And e-mails and faxes are left lying around." as a result, it happened several times that the electricity was cut off at families' homes, even though gabriele morath had sent the company an assurance of payment. "These are very difficult circumstances for the affected people." they can't just move into the hotel during the time without electricity.

Installment lottery against down payment
Things are going better at the bad kissingen public utility company. A pensioner cannot pay the annual bill because he simply has nothing left. Gabriele morath negotiated an installment payment with the municipal utilities on the condition that a small down payment would be listed. For the man also that is not to be lifted at the moment. But from the donation pot of the weihnachtshilfe it can be helped.

When one thing leads to another
When it comes, it comes thick and fast. Actually, a couple with three children in the area mabbach "only" wanted to move to a cheaper apartment because life was too difficult and the wife had become ill. The man had even found a job again,. But since his health did not hold out either, he was dismissed during the probationary period. The man receives hartz IV, but the job center refuses to provide financial assistance for the move, which has not become any cheaper. In addition, the deposit for the new apartment has become an insurmountable obstacle. The way to finance it through a loan was refused to him. Now the family not only needs financial support, but gabriele morath also wants to contact the landlord in order to agree on a feasible way to pay the deposit.

Coburg children's fund
According to gabriele morath's observations, the child benefit office also takes a long time to pay out money to those entitled to receive it. One day a woman from munnerstadt, a single mother, who did not know what to do, came to the counseling center in despair. In anticipation of a change in the support figures, a few euros had already been deducted in advance, so that the money she received in december was not even enough to pay the rent in full. On the other hand, she had not received the child benefit due to her for her 13-year-old son for december. "I gave the woman food vouchers so that the two of them would have something to eat at all, and also a little cash", declares gabriele morath. The two had not known at all what they had to live on. "There are enormous existential fears that no one can endure for long." not without reason the caritas theme of the year is: "poverty makes you sick."

Have young people become more difficult? This question from oldburg mayor werner wolf () to youth worker christian schonfelder about his balance sheet after 15 years of youth work in grafenberg was not easy to answer. Youth work has changed. In any case, the young people accepted the newly renovated rooms well. However, the change of generations is noticeable. Young people who were still involved in the redesign are now out of their shoes, the fifth graders are standing in front of the tower.

Bowling, a trip to the ice center and, of course, educational work on violence, drugs and extremism in any form are among his tasks, according to schonfelder. In the area of prevention, there is close cooperation with social worker yvonne amtmann from the grafenberg middle school. Christian schonfelder would also like to see more volunteers.

There is a lack of volunteers

There is a lack of young people who know the procedures in the youth center and support him. The youth worker from grafenberg is not alone in this wish. Other youth workers in the district also lack this support from experienced volunteers.

Since 2015, there has been an integration group consisting of young people with a migration background or children of asylum seekers. They regularly do things together. "You know german well by now", said schonfelder. Prejudices have also been broken down by playing together.

Since january, the youth worker has been in charge of a music project at the school due to the absence of a music teacher. Christian schonfelder enjoys playing music, but it is not a substitute for lessons. Material is available. Thanks to the donations from the "open-mind-festival in grafenberg, schonfelder was able to purchase a music studio. This is to be permanently installed from the new school year and thus compensate for a missing school band. The project is already running with four young people. Writing texts is one of the tasks.

The most exciting part of the youth work for christian schonfelder was the youth election.

Awareness of the parties

"That was more exciting than the election itself", said schonfelder. In order to be able to carry out the european elections with the young people,8 appropriate materials have already been requested. "Surprisingly, the elections have been well received", schonfelder thinks. The young people are familiarizing themselves with the programs of the parties", explained schonfelder. And they rehearsed everything, put themselves in the role of a polling station worker. "Education for democracy is also a part of youth work", thinks schonfelder.

Trend researcher: snacks replace traditional meals

The taste of the big wide world, but at the same time regionality – in a multicultural metropolis like frankfurt this is no problem.

In the "food report 2020," which trend researcher hanni rutzler presented in frankfurt on monday, this also has a name: glocal, i.E. Global and local at the same time. On the one hand, consumers are often experienced travelers, on the other hand, they attach importance to environmental and climate protection. Food packaging is also a food trend for rutzler. "Even if we can’t completely do without it for the time being, we need a lot of new answers," says the austrian.

In her "food report," which is published by the zukunftsinstitut founded by matthias horx together with the lebensmittel zeitung and the dfv mediengruppe, food scientist rutzler sees a veritable revolution in eating culture. People are no longer just what they eat, but "increasingly also what they consciously do not eat," she says. The desire for healthy food is a trend for them that will continue and also apply to fast food. "That can also be vegetarian or vegan."

Even if vegetables play a major role on the plate, the trend researcher is not convinced of a vegan leading culture of the future, according to studies of the gastronomic scene and the analysis of nutritional behavior. "If you wipe a food culture off the table overnight, it can’t be majority-driven," she said. What is exciting, he said, is "the rapid increase in flexitarians, i.E. People who eat meat – but not always and not all meat."When meat is bought, it is bought consciously and with a question about the origin and husbandry of the animal.

But it’s not just what’s on the plate that’s currently undergoing a change that will also determine the next few years, says rutzler. "The strict belief in the trinity of appetizer, main course and dessert" is being replaced by more creative eating options, she describes the trend toward "snackification".

This does not mean reaching for a chocolate bar in the desk drawer, but for a small meal – mini meals, as rutzler also calls them. It can be something they put together themselves, ordered from a food truck or from the supermarket’s refrigerated section. Eat less, but eat light and healthy food, not at fixed times like the traditional breakfast, lunch or dinner, but whenever you feel like having this snack.

"Never before has it been possible to decide so freely and independently about food," says rutzler. Always provided the budget is right. For food trends, she admits, are a phenomenon of the affluent society. In addition, there is the general population trend: "forecasts and data show that single-person households are rising slowly but very steadily."

The question is not only whether one wants to cook at all, but whether it is fun to eat alone. But what does it matter alone? "Now you share the food through the photos and communicate with your network while you eat," says rutzler. "You can see what others are doing and what they are eating. You do not chew your food listlessly, but share the topic."

Beyond the aesthetics of food shared via social networks, art and design have also changed the way we look at food, the trend researcher believes. At the presentation of the report in a frankfurt gallery, for example, this applies to the mainz conceptual artist christine straszewski, who presents the installation of an alchemical laboratory in which the classic snack products of a "pfennig-budchen" are arranged. "Just not so shy!" calls the artist. Tasting is expressly desired. Tastes somehow like childhood memories. "That’s the way it’s supposed to be," says straszewski, adjusting a wine gum snake. In art, too, the eye eats with the body.

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