The newly created support and mentoring area was the first stop for Peter Weiß on his visit to the Lahrer workshops. The member of the German parliament pays a visit to the Johannes-Diakonie social welfare organisation at least once a year to find out about the latest developments, such as how, for example, the organisation is incorporating the Federal Participation Act for supporting people with a disability.
There are currently around 280 people with a disability working in the Lahrer workshops. The Johannes-Diakonie in Lahr also has accommodation available as well as provision and services provided by the "Offene Hilfen" scheme for the support of people with disabilities and their families. Following the welcome by the Chairman of the Johannes-Diakonie Martin Adel and its Regional Director Bernhard Meier-Hug, the head of the workshop Erwin Stiegeler emphasized how the workshops accommodate the needs of their clients with individual employment offers.
The support and mentoring area, for example, has recently been offering employment opportunities exclusively to people with a physical disability. Thanks to the latest technical aids, that they are now able to tackle increasingly complex tasks. Adel made it clear that individual employment offers such as these are required under the Federal Participation Act, however they also need appropriately qualified personnel and therefore also the relevant financial support. Further themes covered by the discussion were vocational education and training, including employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and the substantial need for skilled workers in work with the disabled.
Adel emphasized the fact that this provides excellent job prospects, not least for those starting their careers: "The social care sector provides interesting, varied and well compensated jobs." Weiß found out more from the Chairman of the Workshop Council Dominik Schaub and women's representative Sarah-Ann van Klaveren regarding the concerns and wishes of people with disabilities in terms of policy making. What the provision of individual care and support for people with disabilities looks like on a day-to-day basis became clear on a tour through the support and mentoring area. This provides a space for around 30 employees and since 2018 has been housed in new, self-built accommodation.
In addition to the Lahrer workshops' main site in Langenwinkel, the affiliated "flower workshop" site in Altdorf also formed part of the programme for Peter Weiß's visit. The flower workshop was founded in 2014. The business has around 20 people with disabilities working in the nursery and in sales. Since September, people with disabilities have also been prepared here for their future professional lives. This specialist provision complements the vocational education and training area of the Lahrer workshops. Weiß was impressed: "The creation of community-based provision such as this is a remarkable achievement for a provider such as the Johannes-Diakonie," emphasized Weiß.