I have been advised to use social services but I don’t want them to be telling me what to do and make me down size my apartment.

Could someone share some experiences?

Thank you have a wonderful day.

I would go and talk to them directly and see what the possibilities are. Nobody can stop you going there to ask non-committal questions, and they definitely won't penalize you for asking, even if it turns out you don't qualify.

From what i've heard, before you get any money, social services typically ask you to reveal everything that may be relevant financially. Definitely income, expenditure and all assets.

But if you think you're living above your means in terms of your appartment, why don't you downsize without getting social services involved?

Social services are usually the last straw. I don't know why you were advised to use them (and there is no need to tell me either) but if you're at the point where you no longer can pay your bills, buy food etc. you will have to let them tell you what to do.

As to downsizing your apartment: Yes that is one major point but it's also well known that finding cheaper flats is not an easy thing to be done over night and you'll get time given to do that.

An other thing is that maybe you only need "Überbrückung" (a limited of time you need their help), then these things like apartment are not a pressing subject.

What ever the case (and again, I'm not asking for details) I - like amogles - advise you to get an appointment, talk things through with them and make your decision after (=based on solid information on your special situation).
Nobody FORCES you to accept financial support from social services so you can still say no thank you after that appointment. So you got nothing to lose but a lot to gain by contacting them.

All the best.

__________________
It's all a matter or perspective.
So move your butt and look at it from the other side

Hi thanks for your note.

I’m currently supporting my sister in the United Kingdom who lost her job and tried to end her life so financially I am struggling.

Just wanted to over look my options I do earn a very low salary compared to majority of people here.

Thank you!

I’ll call them first thing Monday thank you

It'd hel pif you clarify what you mean by "I have been advised", as it makes a big difference if a solicitor working for Basel-Stadt advised you v's a friend v's a stranger on the street v's someone working in the voluntary sector or a social worker.



Keep in mind, there are lots of affluent people on this forum, who may not be familiar with this topic, so there may not be an abundance of answers. Since this matter is very important, seek-out guidance in addition to anything you read here, to try to reduce the chance of something important being overlooked.


If you were provided with any help, you'll be expected to pay it back when they determine you're in a financial position to do so. Help with be the last resort - a person (regardless of Nationality) is expected to exhaust their savings and make spending cuts, lifestyle changes, and so on, as a first step.



Could you reduce your food bill significantly, either by removing stuff or changing brand?



Could you rent out the additional space in your flat? Could you consider sub-letting the big flat whilst you're underwater, and rent something smaller or rent a room, til you're back on your feet?



Don't expect a warm reception from the social help team. Expect them to be rigid in the requirement to communicate only in a local language (take someone with you for linguistic support, if needs be). It's a difficult system to navigate.


The voluntary sector is the best place to look to for help with questions about social help, I reckon, and there are a variety of places in Basel with skilled advisors, or people who can help with formal letter writing, should either of those help. Such organisations support tens, if not hundreds, if not thousands, of such cases.


Some of the places within the voluntary sector in Basel can also offer low-priced or free meals, in case that's helpful to know.



Lastly, COVID has resulted in increased destitution, mental health crisis, job losses, job instability, and financial peril. A number of teams in the voluntary sector have been fundraising to keep services going, to increase the provision, to find bigger premises, to add additional services, and to be able to intervene and pay for food, childcare, clothing, rent or medical expenses for those who find themselves suddenly going under.



You'll find great warmth and kindness amongst the voluntary org's, and a safe place to land until the storm passes.

I definitely empathize with you there, having also supported people in vulnerable situations in the past. The social services will probably say it's not their problem but I would bring it up anyway. Maybe they have an idea.

a) Do you have a job? Then no social services.

b) Do you assets worth more than CHF 4k or so? Then no social services.

c) Do you pay more than CHF 1200 in rent? Then no social services.

d) Supporting a non-Swiss? Then no social services.

Starting to get the picture?

Tom

Not all of those criteria are absolute. Your criterion b) is, yes, and it represnts an absolute exclusion.

For the rest, the social services is supposed to go through all the real facts of the matter - assuming the person seeking help is willing to supply all the proper information - and assess each case individually.

For your a), for example, a person may have a job, but the salary be too low to live on, even modestly (working poor).

For your c), for example, although there is a maximum rental that will be deemed reasonable and put into the calculations, a person whose rental exceeds that maximum by only a small margin may still qualify because of the officially acknowledged needs/expenses that they have. Also, as ChliiniMuus pointed out, the social services sometimes make allowances and do cover a higher rent, at least for a limited transitional phase, because they know that it is hard to find accommodation below the threshold they set.

For your d), that may depend upon where the non-Swiss person being supported lives, and why they were being supported, and what the support involved. I agree with you though, that, in this case, where OP is saying he/she supports a sister abroad (where there does not seem to be any legal obligation to do so), that is unlikely to count in the officially recognised calculation.

But, in general, I was correct.

Tom

In theory, social services provide two different types of help:

• advice
• financial support.

In practice, however, they are overworked and overrun by more applications than they have time for, so they tend to focus more on the financial than on the advice side of their work.

Therefore, if you need advice, such as dealing with debt, or making a budget, or any kind of psychological support, or finding medical treatment, or help with integration and immigration, or dealing with police or other authorities, or understanding contracts, or for ideas on how to find proper help for your friend who has had a stroke, it's best to go to one of the many other advice centres. You can find many links to various services in Basel, many of which are free or nearly free, under several of this list of threads: https://www.englishforum.ch/search.p...rchid=21581652



Financial support is offered to people living in Switzerland who fall on hard times. The social services will require the applicant to openly declare and fully document all of their financial affairs: assets, income, rental, medical insurance, and other significant expenses.

1. First of all, the applicant must, as Tom pointed out above, have depleted all their savings, down to Fr. 4000 (this exact amount may vary from municipality to municipality, but it is something like that).
   
   
2. Next, the social worker will add up all of the applicant's income. If the applicant rents out part of the their home to someone, as you do, then this rental income will also be included as part of your income. There may be some enquiries made about the nature of the relationship between you and your tenant, to determine whether, for example, you are a couple or are family members who may have an obligation to support each other.
   
   
3. Next, the social worker will list the acknowledged expenses. What counts as acknowledged, or not, is not a matter of the applicant's views, but is on a pre-determined assessment by the municipality's defined scheme. The main two expenses that are are acknowleged are rental (up to a limit, as Tom said, but with some exceptions to that limitation, as ChliiniMuus said), and medical insurance (the basic, straightforward, no-frills compulsory medical insurance). Beyond that, there will be a certain allowance to cover all other expenses including food, transport and clothing. This will be a flat sum per month, which may also vary from one municipality to the next, but for a single person it typically about Fr. 900 per month (or perhaps slightly less per person, for a two-person household).
   
   
4. Some other expenses may be acknowledged, too, such as child maintenance payments, or the costs of special medications or medical equipment that is certified to be necessary but is not fully covered by the medical insurance.
   
   
5. Then - if the applicant's income is lower than all that - the amount not covered will be paid out by the social services, to the applicant, each month. In some cases, the social services will elect not to pay out the portion awarded to the beneficiary directly. Instead, they will pay it directly to the medical insurance company and/or the landlord. This lightens the load, and leaves the beneficiary to pay in only their own, remaining portion of those, if any (that'll depend on the level of benefits decreed).

An applicant who has once been accepted onto the social security system and awarded benefits, may also then also granted some of these extra benefits:

• the self-pay portion ("Franchise" and "Selbstbehalt") of medical expenses
• basic dentistry, if first approved by social services
• a contribution towards optical glasses
• an allowance of about Fr. 100 per winter for warm clothing
• school lunches for children.

Social security beneficiaries are not generally required to refund the amounts received. Such repayments do, however, become due if ever the beneficiary becomes wealthy, such as through an inheritance, through winning the lottery, by running a very successful business or by earning a great deal more.

Also, if one is working towards applying to naturalise as Swiss, it is worth noting that, before one may apply, any social security benefits received (in German, from the "Sozialamt") must first be repayed.

Of course, I set all this out, here, aware that any social worker of the social services is not likely to make provision, in the above kind of assessment, for

• your supporting your friend who stays with you
• the costs of any keys lost by your tenant
• your supporting your sister, parents or grandparents in the UK (unless, perhaps, you happen to be their legal guardian and thereby responsible for their care and keep)
• your airfares for trips to and from the UK
• any PCR tests related to those trips, or
• your saving into a 3rd pillar savings scheme.

All of such costs will be considered nice-to-haves in life, or generous impulses on your part as you would like to be able to help people, but essentially not for the account of the social services.

The above makes me reconsider my opinion: you are not only a saint but a perceptive one at that!

I guess your mileage may vary. From what I've heard they let you have assets up to 20K. But it could be my information is incorrect. Or maybe its different from canton to canton.

...in addition to supporting your mate who had a heart attack and now lives with you rent-free and treats you like crap? On a salary unsuitable for one person? Pull the other one.

The voluntary services I support handle a decent amount of cases of temporary workers, low-earners, and working-poor getting jobs, and being chased for repayments from the first pay-check. We go back-and-forth with the various social help teams a lot, arguing the case for those we support to varying degrees of success.
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Your posts are a delight to read. You are patient, kind, well-informed, thoughtful, highly-skilled at conveying info to a broad audience, and always a positive force on the forum. You give a lot to us, and it shows in the care you take with each and every post, Doropfiz. Thanks for all you do.

Providing the OP is legit, I personally would advise him to go back to the UK, simply because he is overwhelmed here.

I'm sorry for your situation and that of your sister. I would suggest that the first port of call is the UK and the county council where your sister is based - there should be an adult social care (or similar) dept. Or Citizen's Advice. It's an admirable thing you are doing for your sister but she likely needs local MH support - I presume MH provision/medical support is there? That should surely be the starting point?

Best of luck.



Also www.mind.co.uk

Stroke, not a heart attack. Get it right.

I'm also dubious about this poster, it's the same style of writing as Justin yet again. Sorry, I just don't think this is for real.