Daniel Alter takes a step towards regular work at Caritas

A 33-year-old man with an intellectual disability is working as a caretaker at Caritas in Ingolstadt, a step towards the primary labour market, BR reports. Daniel Alter has held the job for just over a year and says he enjoys its variety.

Alter assembles furniture, paints, works in the garden and repairs doors and bicycles as part of a seven-person maintenance team at the Caritas Centre St Vinzenz. He previously worked in workshops for people with disabilities, where he assembled hydraulic shock absorbers for Audi. He left because he found the work repetitive and applied for an internship at Caritas.

A familiar workplace

Alter has known the centre since childhood. He attended its kindergarten and later its support centre for pupils with intellectual disabilities. After leaving school, he spent several years in workshops for people with disabilities.

His manager, technical director Dominic Walter, says Alter can do almost all the team’s tasks, though he sometimes needs more time. Walter says Alter works well when given space and clear instructions.

Pay and support remain unresolved

Alter remains employed by Lebenshilfe and is loaned to Caritas. He does not receive a standard wage for his caretaker work, but gets an additional bonus of several hundred euros on top of his usual payments from Lebenshilfe, according to Heinz Liebhart, head of the Caritas centre.

Liebhart says it is difficult to assess Alter’s work in economic terms and that he still needs support in some areas. A regular wage could put some costly services, including supported housing, at risk or leave Alter having to pay for them himself.

Alter says he still needs more structure in his daily life and wants to learn skills such as cooking. His goal is to live independently one day and “work normally”. Liebhart describes the arrangement as beneficial to both Caritas and Alter, whose example has encouraged other students to consider similar work.