"Heimetli mit Herz" was founded in 2019 by trauma education specialists Kelly Olivia Gray and Lui Biele. "We want to open up a path from survival to life again for adolescents and young adults with their individual fates," says Lui Biele. The "Heimetli mit Herz" offers young people a day structure from Monday to Friday with 16 places and a wide range of options that can be taken up in varying degrees of intensity. In addition to various therapies and personal development coaching, the activities on offer range from a wood and painting workshop to a store with a bistro, help in the kitchen, a music room and a learning studio. Work is carried out in small family groups based on a trauma education approach, which makes the "Heimetli mit Herz" unique. In other words: There is no set daily program for everyone at Heimetli. The young people decide for themselves which activities they want to attend and at what pace they try to reintegrate into a meritocratic society. "We want to give these young people, who increasingly often have multiple diagnoses, this freedom as part of an overall structure, create a safe place for them and give them confidence in the process and in relationships and therefore in life," continues Biele. More than half of the young people from Heimetli also find a follow-up solution, such as an apprenticeship, and manage to reintegrate.
The young people's day places are financed by public or private sponsors. However, the association also relies on donations to continuously expand its services and train staff.
As a leading insurance company, Zurich not only pursues economic goals, but also assumes its social responsibility and is thus also committed to improving social justice. Zurich has been supporting "Heimetli mit Herz" since last year and has pledged CHF 125,000 to the association for each of the next five years. Biele: "This is a significant financial help for us to continue training our staff for the future and thus ensure a sustainable team culture."
For Juan Beer, CEO Zurich Switzerland, one thing is certain: "With this commitment, we are making an important contribution to prevention and integration - because as a responsible company, we must, want to and can help these young people. I am also proud that this initiative has come from the ranks of our employees. This shows that we are all pulling in the same direction and that we as an organization are aware of our responsibility towards society. We are thus sending out another important signal for sustainability."
