crises
Diakonie warns of drastic increase in poverty in Germany
An employee of the Tafel shop in Singen Am Hohentwiel carries a box full of fruit and vegetables. The food banks in Baden-Württemberg are important contact points for people in need. Photo: Felix Kästle/dpa
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Inflation and rising energy prices could mean a slide into poverty for many people in Germany. The Diakonie therefore suggests an emergency regulation.
The Protestant welfare organization Diakonie Germany has warned of a drastic increase in poverty in Germany and has called for new emergency aid.
“We will get a lot more poor people than we previously thought,” said the socio-political Diakonie board member Maria Loheide of the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. With inflation and rising energy prices, many people’s salaries are no longer enough, she said. The Diakonie already sees this clearly in the increase in their numerous offers of help: “We notice this in every counseling center, in the debt counseling centers, the social counseling centers and also the family centers.”
Loheide called for a reform of social support in general crises from the federal government instead of one-off aid payments. “The eternal one-time and bonus payments have something of alms,” criticized the Diakonie board member. “Our proposal is an emergency regulation that is firmly anchored in the social code books and provides support for those affected in a national crisis situation – with at least 100 euros a month for six months,” said Loheide. In view of the high inflation, she also called for an increase in the Hartz IV rates. In addition, there would have to be targeted crisis-related aid.