The increased energy and food prices are a financial imposition for many people. If the money is no longer enough to live on, there is help – from the federal and state governments. How to get them should explain new advisory services.
Erfurt (dpa/th) – People who are suffering greatly from inflation and the energy crisis should be able to find out about state aid from the Thuringia consumer center. There are federal support services, “but many people don’t even know what they are entitled to,” said Thuringia’s Social Minister Heike Werner (left) of the German Press Agency. Therefore, the aim is to involve the consumer center and the consumer insolvency advice centers. Your ministry is currently also coordinating this with the Ministry of Justice – the department of Minister Dirk Adams (Greens) also includes consumer protection.
“We know that the people who were already badly off before the energy crisis are facing particularly great challenges,” said Werner. She referred to the sharp rise in energy and food costs. “And the wages here in Thuringia are not lagging behind.” This also affects the social infrastructure. For example, more and more people went to the panels. “There are a lot of fears about the future.” We know from consultations that older people in particular are very afraid of utility bills.
According to Werner, the aim is also to find the right help for people. “The country cannot do things that someone else is responsible for,” she said. If, however, it turns out in the consultation process that an emergency is imminent despite the federal aid, the consultation centers could submit an application to call up money from the Thuringian hardship fund.
In October, the Thuringian state parliament created a special energy fund with a volume of around 407 million euros with the votes of the Red-Red-Green, CDU and FDP. People and companies that are particularly suffering from the massive increase in energy costs should benefit from this. According to the Ministry of Social Affairs, around ten million euros are earmarked for cases of social hardship among individuals.
