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20 years of care association: Help for the vulnerable in the district!
The care association in Nürnberger Land is celebrating 20 years of supporting people in emergency situations; Lectures on power of attorney are offered.
20 years of care association: Help for the vulnerable in the district!
In 2023, the Diakonie NAH care association celebrated a remarkable anniversary: 20 years of dedicated support for people in the Nuremberg region. The association was founded in 2005 with the aim of helping people who cannot manage their affairs independently due to age, illness or disability. The concept was created on the initiative of the district office and was intended to create an additional contact point for legal support in the district. Margit Hegwein-Schmitz, a former professional supervisor, laid the foundation for the club. From initially 20 hours a week in a small office in Lauf, the association has now developed to five employees with around 140 hours a week.
The legislation has changed significantly over the years. Guardianship law has become more flexible, so that guardianship courts now only decide on necessary and relevant areas of responsibility. Interestingly, the focus is no longer just on older people: the proportion of age-related care has fallen from 22.2% in 2010 to just 8.2%. Statistically, care for psychological reasons increased from 37.5% to 49.2%. This shows that more and more younger people, often without a supportive social environment, are dependent on help.
Enlightenment and self-empowerment in focus
A central concern of the care association is the self-empowerment of the people being cared for. The association attaches great importance to providing information about important topics such as health care power of attorney and living wills. These aspects are essential to make people aware of their own rights and freedom of choice. Regular lectures are offered in the district to provide information about this. These events are donation-based, which also shows how important the association is to being close to the community.
But what is a power of attorney actually? In short, it allows one person to manage legal, financial and health matters on behalf of another. Only people you trust completely should be authorized. To secure such a trust relationship, various measures can be taken to avoid abuse, such as dividing responsibility among several people or establishing accountability requirements.
A network for those affected and interested
Diakonie NAH is one of many care centers and associations that serve to support relatives and interested parties and to provide necessary forms. Facilities like these can be found in almost every city or municipality and enable those affected to receive comprehensive advice. The support ranges from legal advice to concrete offers of help, such as granting a health care power of attorney or applying for a living will. Nowadays, when the complexity of social benefit structures has increased, the help of volunteer carers is increasingly valued.
Despite the increasing awareness, there are still reservations about the authorization. Therefore, the work of the care association remains an important topic in order to strengthen people's self-determination. Anyone who is interested in the offers or would like to volunteer as a legal guardian can contact the association by phone or email.
With this positive development in the care system, the Diakonie NAH care association shows that there is a real community spirit in social responsibility for the weaker people. This makes not only the club, but the entire Nuremberg region a bit more livable.