Thuringia: energy prices: welfare organizations see services in danger

Erfurt (dpa/th) - From the maternity ward to day-care center pedagogy, school, hospital, counseling service to care and hospice: From the point of view of the non-profit welfare organizations in Thuringia, inflation and rising energy prices are calling into question the maintenance of social infrastructure for people in Thuringia.

Thuringia: energy prices: welfare organizations see services in danger

Erfurt (dpa/th) - From the maternity ward to day-care center pedagogy, school, hospital, counseling service to care and hospice: From the point of view of the non-profit welfare organizations in Thuringia, inflation and rising energy prices are calling into question the maintenance of social infrastructure for people in Thuringia. "There is a real danger that social institutions will soon no longer be able to provide their services because the operating costs are getting too much for them," said the chairman of the board of the Diakonie Mitteldeutschland, Christoph Stolte, on Wednesday on behalf of the welfare organizations in Thuringia.

Due to binding budget planning and financing, the League of Free Welfare cannot adjust to the rapidly rising energy prices. Long-term care insurance funds, municipalities and federal states must "now sit down with the social service providers at the negotiating table and not put the problems on the back burner," said Stolte.

Especially those services that socially weaker people are dependent on in the current crisis have their backs to the wall. In the social advice centers, such as debtor and consumer insolvency advice, waiting times of up to six months are already being worked on. And currently a massive increase in consultation cases is to be expected. The rising costs of care, for example, drove more and more people into social assistance. "And at the same time, these counseling centers are fighting for their own economic survival," said Stolte.