Photo: B. Ripper

People know each other in Darmstadt's Postsiedlung. People who live here meet at the senior citizens' lunch table, for a slice of cake in the Friday café or at the free store, which has long since become a lively meeting place. For more than ten years, the association "Zusammen in der Postsiedlung" (Together in the Postsiedlung) has been ensuring that the neighborhood becomes a real community - open, inclusive and based on solidarity.

Now the award-winning neighborhood project, which has already received funding from SAGST in the past, is taking a further step: with the support of the foundation, a nursing specialist is being employed for the first time to provide medical support to people living alone and the very elderly in the neighborhood. These people often remain at home despite health problems because they have no one to accompany them or do not even know what help is available. The new nurse is an experienced intensive care nurse and has known the neighborhood for years. Her job is to be close to people on a day-to-day basis, build trust and, together with a team of volunteers, close small but crucial gaps - for example, during visits to the doctor or by making home visits with basic medical equipment.

The project not only makes social but also economic sense. "If older people can live independently at home for longer thanks to good neighborly help and professional support, everyone benefits - those affected, the neighborhood and ultimately the public sector," says Andreas Grießer, project manager at SAGST. "We also see this approach as a model for other locations: civic engagement, professional care and municipal responsibility intertwine - this is solidarity in action at a local level."

In addition to setting up the new position, the funding will be used to purchase materials for basic health care, cover travel costs and establish a contact point in the neighborhood. In the long term, the association is aiming for the city of Darmstadt to take over the funding. This is because the savings that result from older people remaining in their homes are considerable. An accompanying short film is also intended to raise awareness of the "Darmstadt model" and show how much power there is in community care.