©VOL.AT
While many people meet for a meal together on Christmas Eve or sing “Silent Night”, in some other places things are much less idyllic.
And for some or some, service is calling. Like the employees of the telephone counseling service. “This year, the highest number of almost 18,000 calls was reached. That’s a lot,” says head Sepp Gröfler in Vorarlberg LIVE. “One notices that the crises that follow one another are slowly weakening people’s stamina.” Among other things, employees of the telephone counseling service are available around the clock during the public holidays for people who need comfort or are looking for a sympathetic ear.
The entire broadcast
“Often, the topics intensify at Christmas. It’s a family celebration that sometimes puts pressure on people,” says Barbara Moser-Natter, deputy head of telephone counseling. The “breakdown service for the soul” is often about defusing situations, taking away fears or simply listening. A total of 90 volunteers in Vorarlberg are quietly involved in telephone counseling and make round-the-clock availability possible. Among the callers there are always people who are very lonely, says one of the helpers, who has been working for people in need for years and has often been on duty on Christmas Eve. For some, Christmas is also a time to say thank you and to let them know that they are doing well again. “We get a lot of positive feedback.”
Because Christmas is not a celebration of joy and family for everyone, Caritas employees are also there for people in need. “Some will notice right now that they need support,” says Caritas director Walter Schmolly. That’s why Caritas is there on the holidays for those people who need help and support at short notice.
The broadcast “Vorarlberg LIVE” is a cooperation between VOL.AT, VN.at, Ländle TV and VOL.AT TV and is broadcast from Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. There’s more here.
