Close to people | Stories from Bethel
"The bridge was our salvation"
A bag in each hand, a rucksack on his back: Mika Wellner is standing outside the building of the "Brücke" short-term residential group in Bielefeld-Bethel on Friday lunchtime. How fortunate that someone opens the door for him. Andreas Karger, manager of the home on Ebenezerweg, gives the 15-year-old a warm welcome. Once again, because Mika is a regular guest at the Brücke. The residential centre, where he will spend the weekend, has become a second home for the Bielefeld resident.
At Brücke, children and young people with disabilities and autism spectrum disorders can live in single or double rooms for a few days. For Mika and his mother, the residential group has been a valuable addition to everyday family life for ten years. "The bridge was our salvation," says Vibeke Wellner as she talks about the difficult time when her son pushed her to her limits with his challenging behaviour. Mentally and physically. "It was very exhausting," she remembers. "Mika hardly slept and so I didn't either." The bridge still provides her with much-needed relief today.
Around 120 families like the Wellners currently use the facilities at the bridge. There is room for a maximum of twelve guests at a time. Founded in 1983 by Sarepta sisters, the residential group was initially located as "Haus Brückenstraße" in the street of the same name. It moved to Bethel at the end of 2005. Andreas Karger emphasises that the basic idea is still valid today, and he likes the symbolism in the name of the facility: "We want to build bridges for children and young people as well as for their parents and thus pave the way for them into a new life situation."
"We want to build bridges for children and young people as well as for their parents."
The Wellners are a good example of how this works. Vibeke Wellner remembers exactly how she felt after she decided to occasionally leave her son in someone else's care. "It was terrible," she says, "I had a guilty conscience." She overcame this because she quickly realised how good working with Andreas Karger and the 40-strong team at Brückenbauer was not only for her, but also for her son. "I can play well here," says Mika and talks about water fights and eating cake. He has made friends at the bridge. "Mika has also become more and more self-confident and has made progress in practical life issues," adds Andreas Karger. For example, the boy has learnt to buy the ingredients for a meal and to prepare it. Vibeke Wellner is reassured that her son is now better prepared for what is to come: "I no longer find it so difficult to deal with the fact that Mika will move out of the house at some point."
She has recently been amazed to notice other new skills her son has acquired. "He not only empties the dishwasher, but now also makes his bed in the morning and neatly folds his pyjamas," she explains. And adds with a laugh: "He didn't learn that from me."
Text: Philipp Kreutzer | Picture: Sarah Jonek
40 years of "Brücke"
The "Brücke" celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2023. To mark the occasion, guests and employees of the centre have put together a photo exhibition with portraits of the people who live and work there, as well as their relatives. The exhibition was on display at the Neue Schmiede in Bethel and most recently at the International Short Break Association conference in Wroclaw, Poland. There, people working in outpatient care exchanged ideas. Andreas Karger and Mika Wellner were part of the five-person team representing the "Brücke" and Bethel.
The exhibition can currently be visited at Dankort Bethel, Quellenhofweg 25, 33617 Bielefeld-Bethel. Opening hours are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 3.30 pm. The pictures are expected to be on display in the hall until the end of November.
This story simply told
Mika is 15 and regularly spends a few days at the "Brücke" short-term residential group in Bielefeld-Bethel. This is a centre for children and young people with disabilities and autism spectrum disorders. This is a relief for Mika's mother. Mika loves going to the Brücke. He has made friends there and is learning to shop, for example.
Would you like to find out more?
Contact
Short-term residential group Brücke
Ebenezerweg 14
33617 Bielefeld
Offers & services
Short-term care in a special form of accommodation is aimed at children and young people with disabilities aged 0-18. There are autism-specific support programmes (TEACCH). The support offered includes assistance, encouragement and support as well as practical life training. The Brücke short-term residential group is centrally located in the Bethel district of Gadderbaum, a lively part of Bielefeld with a wide range of leisure activities.
