Close to people | Stories from Bethel
Arrive and feel good
Sugar sprinkles trickle onto baking paper and the smell of chocolate glaze wafts through the large room. Soon there will be home-baked biscuits. An offer that many people from this Bethel residential group are only too happy to take up. Daniel* is also delighted. You can clearly see that in his face, even if he doesn't speak - like most of the people in his group. The 16 people who live and are cared for here all have very severe and complex disabilities.
Until recently, they lived together in "Haus Hohensonne" in Lemgo. However, the building is in urgent need of renovation in order to be able to offer everyone a good, barrier-free home again. Donations will help to meet people's special needs with a comprehensive remodelling project. The result will be bright and friendly rooms with space for 48 people - spread over two floors.
But even in the temporary living groups, everything is done to make everyone feel at home. Occupational therapist Katharina Becker, for example, always comes up with something that makes people happy. First they baked biscuits using a recipe from her grandmother and have now decorated them. At least in theory. Because it's not just 52-year-old Daniel who decides to drizzle chocolate on every second biscuit at most. The others go straight into his mouth. "Hmm - delicious!" says his smile.
Afterwards, Daniel treats himself to a break on the sofa. "Daniel likes to sit. He rests within himself. If it gets too busy for him, he withdraws," says Katharina Becker. When she's on duty in the evening, she always sings a bedtime song to Daniel because he likes it so much. And his beloved teddy also gets an extra "LaLeLu".
* Surname omitted on request
Text: Heike Lepkojis | Photos: Christian Weische
This story simply told
In a residential group in Bethel, 16 people with severe disabilities bake biscuits. Daniel, who doesn't speak, is having great fun. The residential group had to move due to a refurbishment. In the temporary home, occupational therapist Katharina Becker makes sure that everyone feels at home, for example by baking biscuits and singing goodnight songs.
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