Generation project by TV chef Tim Mälzer "A care home can be more than just a last stop"
Actor André Dietz and TV chef Tim Mälzer launch an intergenerational project on the topic of integration: "Herbstresidenz". It is an exemplary TV experiment that deserves a lot of attention.
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The German TV channel Vox is launching an intergenerational project with Tim Mälzer and André Dietz this week.
- In the documentary series "Herbstresidenz", the TV chef and the actor immerse themselves in the lives of senior citizens in a Caritas nursing home.
- The innovative idea behind it: People with disabilities stand by the elderly and lovingly care for them.
- "Many elderly people suffer from a monotonous everyday life in which they deteriorate mentally and physically," says Dietz in an interview, describing the stressful situation that nursing home residents experience.
- She continues: "Often only small changes are needed to get them more involved in life again."
Following their award-winning documentary series "Zum Schwarzwälder Hirsch", actor André Dietz and TV chef Tim Mälzer are now launching a generational project on the topic of "integration".
In the "Herbstresidenz" experiment, the duo are focusing on a new way of caring for the elderly: ten young people with disabilities will accompany senior citizens in a nursing home for 90 days, giving them the chance to fundamentally change their lives and their own. The aim: more joy, more self-determination and a better life.
Ten young people with disabilities accompany the senior citizens of a nursing home for 90 days, giving them the chance to fundamentally change their lives and their own. The goal: more joy, more self-determination and a better life. At the same time, they complete training to become an everyday helper, giving them the chance to gain a long-term foothold in the regular job market.
André Ditz, in the documentary series "Herbstresidenz", people with disabilities help care home residents to cope with everyday life and feel more alive again. What do you mean by that?
For many people in care homes, there is life in society and death. For them, time in a care home is sometimes not a part of life, but a waiting for death. People who live in a care home often have the impression that they are on the sidelines. Many even long to go to sleep at night and not wake up in the morning.
That sounds incredibly harsh, but it's more or less like vegetating. You shimmy from one meal to the next throughout the day. Joy doesn't exist then. That's why we said to ourselves, you have to be able to change that! After all, the home should be a home. That's what we wanted to create.
How is it that there is no joy?
It's definitely not because the carers don't do a good job or because the home isn't nice. Moving there only makes it clear that life is behind you. Many have sold their possessions or put their things in the bulky waste bin. They have left their home and lost their previous life.
And these young people can provide support in this new phase of their lives?
They have a lot of zest for life and are happy to help. On the one hand, we have people who want to enter the job market but have not yet been recognized by society. On the other hand, the number of elderly people is growing and there is a shortage of nursing staff. It is therefore a logical consequence to bring both parties together. That is what we have done.
Two worlds collide in the experiment. Some of the residents are almost 100 years old and lived through the Third Reich. Did you have to contend with prejudices?
No. But when we asked the residents how they felt about people with disabilities, I was surprised at first. It wasn't just fear of contact in the truest sense that came to light, but also concerns that the young people might be too brash or not up to the task. However, this quickly dissipated.
Nevertheless, people from both groups are seen as needing help rather than being able to give it themselves. Is this way of thinking outdated?
Absolutely. The opposite is true. The people with disabilities took on caring tasks, while at the same time the residents were there for the trainees and were able to score points with their life experience. They helped each other and thus activated skills that were not previously required. Ultimately, the aim was not to create the perfect carers, but to bring human warmth and that worked.
How did you prepare for accompanying the trainees?
I attended a small nursing school beforehand, learned the theory and talked to people from the care sector about the practical side of things. But when I stood in a resident's room and had to wash her back and bottom, I felt like an intruder. You can talk about it as much as you like, but when you're standing there, it's something completely different. Our trainees had a similar experience, although we did of course prepare them for their time in the home.
What was the most surprising realization for you in this project?
It was fascinating to see how smoothly inclusion can work. It worked so well so quickly that I thought: "What am I still doing here?" One of the reasons we started the project was to improve the lives of the people in the home. It wasn't just about outward appearances, such as making the living area more beautiful. We wanted to get the people involved to do something for the community again. They should feel needed again and do things that they have done all their lives, such as cooking.
Tim Mälzer was responsible for that ...
Yes, but it wasn't about Michelin-starred cuisine. The decisive factor was what this commitment does for people. That's how collaboration came about. For example, a group of care home residents and people with disabilities spent over an hour trying to open a can of pineapple. They all tackled the problem together.
I wanted to intervene, but the producer stopped me. As a result, we were able to see how everyone took care of each other and worked together. That was fantastic. We never know what's going to happen beforehand, and that's what makes it exciting. It allows us to reflect reality.
Could people with disabilities also help in other areas?
Of course. Every entrepreneur should ask themselves: Do I have people with disabilities in my company? Could I make that possible? They should be represented everywhere - but not just out of social responsibility, but because it is really worthwhile for both sides. Of course, there are areas with special requirements - in hospitals, for example, it's a matter of life and death.
There are also different gradations of cognitive and physical abilities, and you have to look at each situation individually. Nevertheless, the possibilities are many and varied and have rarely been used to date. We have started with the catering and care sectors, and perhaps other areas will be added in the future.
Where do you see the biggest challenges?
It starts in the playground. Some children with disabilities need special playgrounds so that they can play and interact with other children. It is important that all children learn to interact with each other at an early age. If they experience people with disabilities as a natural part of our society from an early age, they will naturally take them on as bosses later on.
Another point is that our schools are not equipped for inclusion and it is argued that inclusive education slows down the classroom. However, there are opportunities to create encounters, for example through shared break rooms or sponsorships. Unfortunately, we are still a long way from functioning inclusion in Germany.
This is also conveyed by the TV experiment "Herbstresidenz".
Exactly, through the documentary series we show people that fear of contact is completely unfounded. Projects like "Herbstresidenz" can help to anchor the naturalness of interaction in society. I have a daughter with a disability myself and have learned a lot about enjoying life through her. She approaches the world with great openness, and that is very inspiring.
Are we as a society clinging to outdated values?
Yes, definitely. I also used to have reservations. At my first audition with people with disabilities, I didn't know how I should behave. It was only when a supervisor said: "Just be yourself" that I understood that no special treatment was needed. This naturalness has to be learned.
It's also difficult to deal with the end of life ...
Nobody likes to think about their own ageing, but there comes a point when you have to ask yourself: How do I want to grow old? These questions affect us all. It's quite clear that a lot needs to be done in the care sector. My wife and I have four children and don't want to burden them with the responsibility of caring for us, but we can't imagine living in a home either.
For the first episode of "Herbstresidenz", Tim Mälzer dared to try it out for himself and spent a night in a nursing home. His conclusion afterwards was that he would rather be dead than have to live in a home. Is that an understandable reaction?
Yes, we often hear that. But during our project, we saw that people who initially said they didn't want to wake up tonight suddenly found joy in life again. If they had died, they would have missed all these beautiful moments.
The presence of the TV crew naturally created a special situation in the home. Would the "Herbstresidenz" project also work in everyday life?
Caritas has supported our project and has already indicated that it wants to transfer the concept to other homes. Whether this will be implemented remains to be seen. But we have shown that it is often only small things that can trigger big changes and improve lives.
For example, we have encouraged residents to use the kitchens that are available in the homes but have so far been ignored. That was a game changer. That's why one insight from the documentary series is the sentence: "It doesn't take much". And that's exactly true.
The four-part documentary series "Herbstresidenz" with Tim Mälzer and André Dietz has been airing on VOX since this week. From the start, the Vitamedia Film production will also be available seven days in advance on RTL+.
