Most people would prefer to live within their own four walls, even when they are old, but in many cases this is not easy: steps at the entrance, high thresholds between the rooms, a bathtub that requires a certain degree of flexibility when getting in – all obstacles that make it difficult to cope with everyday life. Since 2018, the Caritas housing advice service has been helping older people and people with disabilities to redesign their homes in such a way that there are as few of these hurdles as possible. There is also advice on financing conversions or subsidy programs.
At the most recent meeting of the district council’s social committee, no one disputed the fact that the volunteer housing advisors from Caritas and their full-time coordinator Michael Münch have done a good job over the past few years. Nevertheless, the Caritas offer will expire at the end of the year. Because since December 2020 there has also been a care base in the district, according to its own description the “first point of contact for the Ebersberg district for all questions relating to care and assistance in old age”. The nursing base is financed by the health and nursing care insurance funds, the district of Upper Bavaria and the rural district of Ebersberg.
In the summer of 2020, the project was granted a two-year extension
As early as summer 2020, the social committee of the district council had therefore discussed whether the work of a housing advice center could be integrated into the care base. At that time, however, it was decided against it, they wanted to wait and see the experiences with the new facility. The Caritas Center was therefore commissioned to provide housing advice for a further two years.
These two years will be over at the end of 2022, and in view of the experiences with the care base, the majority of the members of the social committee have now appealed for the task of the new facility to be closed. This is mainly due to the costs, because the technical cooperation, according to Jochen Specht from the demography team in the district office, was very good. So far, housing advice has cost the district 10,500 euros a year; the majority of these are personnel costs for the socio-pedagogical employee and material costs, only just under 500 euros are incurred as an expense allowance for voluntary housing consultants. According to Michael Münch, 60 people were advised in 2021, and 22 of them made house calls – due to Corona, the number was lower than in previous years.
While Ottilie Eberl as well as Johannes von der Forst (Greens) and Marlene Ottinger (Left) advocated sticking to the previous cooperation with Caritas and in this way offering continuity and taking into account the increasing demand, Susanne Linhart (CSU) argued Wilfried Seidelmann (free voters) and Alexander Müller (FDP) against it. “It makes no sense that we maintain double structures. We can use the money elsewhere,” said Müller. Seidelmann pointed out that the care base could offer advice from a single source – also on housing issues. Ultimately, the decision was made to say goodbye to Caritas, and their advice will expire at the end of 2022.