The Kinder- und Jugenddorf St. Heribert offers young people a safe living space and holistic education. It emphasizes resource orientation, relationship building, and an open, intercultural community. The goal is to promote self-responsibility and social integration.
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The Kinder- und Jugenddorf St. Heribert in Leichlingen is an over 130-year-old, differentiated youth welfare facility for residential child and youth care, offering a safe living space and a holistic upbringing to children, adolescents, and young adults with complex issues[1][8].
The facility offers various forms of care for the differentiated problems of children and their families, including residential groups in the children's village and socio-pedagogically supervised living for adolescents and young adults[1][6]. All forms of care are based on the principle of holistic upbringing, which the facility derives from its Catholic, Christian worldview[1][3]. This means that it not only focuses on overcoming personal difficulties but consistently places the educational emphasis on the resources of the individual and the group[1][3]. The facility respects and values the personality of each child and promotes the development into a self-reliant young person who learns to establish lasting interpersonal relationships and possesses sufficient practical life skills to shape their own life[1].
A central characteristic of the children's village is its open and intercultural community, which is lived within the facility[5]. This attitude reflects the values of respect, recognition, and appreciation for every young person, regardless of their origin or past experiences. The facility sees itself as a place that not only nurtures but actively promotes personal development and group dynamics to strengthen the social integration and emotional stability of the young people in its care[1][5].
The main mission of the Kinder- und Jugenddorf St. Heribert is to provide young people with special challenges with a stable, family-like environment in which they can develop their personalities and acquire the prerequisites for a self-determined life[1]. The young people are accompanied in a protected framework that simultaneously allows enough freedom to make their own decisions and learn from them. The upbringing aims to strengthen personal responsibility and gradually integrate young people into society[1].
The values of the facility are deeply rooted in the Catholic, Christian worldview and manifest themselves through the concrete practice of individual support, group orientation, and relationship building[1][3]. The staff place great importance on an appreciative attitude that helps young people strengthen their self-esteem and build trust in others. The facility emphasizes the importance of belonging, security, and comfort as essential prerequisites for positive development[1].
In the area of sustainability and initiatives, the Kinder- und Jugenddorf St. Heribert focuses on long-term, resource-oriented care aimed at sustainably integrating young people into society and giving them the opportunity to shape their own life paths[1][6]. The facility promotes the practical life skills of young people by involving them in everyday tasks and entrusting them with responsibility for their own life management[1]. Furthermore, the facility supports the intercultural integration and social participation of all young people, regardless of their origin[5]. The facility is part of Caritas, one of the largest social work organizations in Germany, and is thus firmly anchored in a sustainable infrastructure focused on long-term help and support[2].
The facility offers not only residential care but also supplementary services such as socio-pedagogically supervised living for adolescents and young adults who already possess certain skills in their advanced personal development but still require support[6]. These services are designed to guide young people in a step-by-step process from residential care to independence, with the facility continuously accompanying and supporting them[6].
The Kinder- und Jugenddorf St. Heribert sees itself as an open place that not only responds to the needs of young people but actively promotes their development and integrates them into the community[5]. The facility fosters an intercultural community that recognizes and promotes the diversity of young people[5]. This is evident in the concrete practice of the facility, where young people are involved in various activities that strengthen their social integration and emotional stability[5].
The facility is also active in regional and supra-regional projects aimed at promoting the social participation and societal integration of young people[5]. These projects are an important part of the facility's sustainability strategy, as they aim to integrate young people into society in the long term and give them the opportunity to shape their own life paths[1][6].
Overall, the Kinder- und Jugenddorf St. Heribert is a unique facility that offers young people with special challenges a stable, family-like environment and actively integrates them into society[1]. The facility fosters an open and intercultural community that recognizes and promotes the diversity of young people[5]. Holistic upbringing, resource orientation, and relationship building are the central elements that distinguish the facility and sustainably promote the development of young people[1].
The Kinder- und Jugenddorf St. Heribert is an example of sustainable youth welfare that offers young people with special challenges a stable, family-like environment and actively integrates them into society[1]. The facility fosters an open and intercultural community that recognizes and promotes the diversity of young people[5]. Holistic upbringing, resource orientation, and relationship building are the central elements that distinguish the facility and sustainably promote the development of young people[1].
