COVID-19 Special: People with disabilities face exclusion
Although some of the people living at the Haus am Quendelberg are there due to accidents later in life, most residents have suffered from cognitive impairment since early childhood, which is why they have legal guardians — either parents or siblings, or full-time professional guardians, some of whom are responsible for more than 20 different cases.
These guardians offer their guidance when it comes to making decisions about things like money matters or health issues. They must, for example, give their approval for vaccinations. Or permission for an interview with DW.
Most residents work in nearby workshops that employ people with impairments. When these workshops were forced to close down in 2020 due to the impact of COVID, some of the carers set up alternative programs in the care home. But when the workshops reopened, contact was supposed to be kept to a minimum. Anybody living in Montabaur has to stay in Montabaur. It was a ruling that cost several people at the home their jobs.