"People on the margins of society are the focus of the Ludwigsburg social counseling service. The aim is to reintegrate offenders into society. With this work, the well-networked social counseling service makes a major contribution not only to those affected, but also to victim protection and security in the district. The social counselling service is an important institution for the district of Ludwigsburg," said District Administrator Dr. Rainer Haas. The head of the district administration emphasized that the social counselling service offers offenders a wide range of help in line with its guiding principle of "helping people to help themselves"; the counselling covers important areas of people's lives, such as work, contact with family or victim-offender mediation; it is also involved, for example, in the search for affordable housing, rents its own accommodation or is prepared to provide co-guarantees. The broad range of social counseling services and the close connection to the district is also reflected in the nationwide "Chance" project, in which children and young people affected by the imprisonment of a parent receive professional or guided voluntary help to clarify and promote a positive parent-child relationship. To finance the project, the district concluded an agreement with the social counseling service in March 2017.
District Administrator Haas then went on to explain that, in addition to the district, the social counseling service is one of the independent providers offering debt counseling for the citizens of the district: "The social counseling service is therefore an important support for people in debt and over-indebted people," Haas stated. The district, Ludwigsburg Social Counseling Service and Diakonie Vaihingen have concluded a cooperation agreement to ensure quality standards for sustainable and successful advice for debtors.
The association is also involved in the prevention of violence, continued Haas. The prevention work goes beyond working with people who have already come into conflict with the law by also providing individual and couples counseling for domestic violence problems. In addition, the social counseling service offers anti-violence training for adults - the district is currently paying for ten of these - and violence prevention in schools.
District Administrator Haas concluded by thanking the social counseling service "for the many years of good and constructive cooperation in the various areas". Above all, he thanked the employees of the Ludwigsburg social counseling service and the many volunteers of the association who, in cooperation with the full-time staff, continue to be very important for the work of the social counseling service. Haas wished the association "that it remains as energetic and successful and finds the support and committed colleagues it needs for its beneficial work. I also wish all the best and every success for new projects, such as psychosocial trial support for particularly vulnerable victims."
Help for released prisoners to prevent crime has a long tradition in Ludwigsburg: social counseling has developed from traditional welfare work since 1829, supported by a citizens' initiative, the Förderverein Strafvollzug. In 1979, this support association became Sozialberatung Ludwigsburg e.V. For 40 years now, Sozialberatung Ludwigsburg has been working under the motto "Integration instead of exclusion". It is an established institution for the district of Ludwigsburg when it comes to help and services for people who have committed crimes, their relatives and victims of crime.
