Work in the network

Caritas markets as an economic barometer

Caritas markets are a vital resource for households on a tight budget, offering food and everyday essentials at discounts of up to 70 per cent – made possible by the support of over 400 producers, suppliers, and foundations.

In 2024, the number of sales increased slightly, reflecting the growing financial hardship faced by many. However, overall revenue declined slightly compared to the previous year, dropping from 17.8 to 17.7 million francs. This decrease is due to targeted price reductions on essential food items – an important measure to ensure that everyone, regardless of their financial situation, has access to a balanced diet.

Assisted escape from the debt trap

Anyone with financial worries can get quick and uncomplicated support from ‘SOS Schulden’. This is a service offered by Caritas Switzerland, four regional Caritas organisations and seven specialist centres. They were asked for help over 3000 times in 2024 – online, by phone or in person.

Since 2024, the service has been supplemented by a project with Alternative Bank Switzerland. With ‘Neustart’, specialists can apply for interest-free loans for over-indebted people, which makes the way out of debt somewhat less difficult.

• The regional Caritas network

Helping everyone to get itDigital Participation

Whether it’s buying a ticket with your mobile phone, paying bills via e-banking or submitting an application online: digital technologies are becoming increasingly important, but for many people, dealing with them is a challenge. Various regional Caritas organisations are providing assistance. In the cantons of Lucerne, Jura, Zurich, Bern, Solothurn, Fribourg and Neuchâtel, volunteers answer specific questions at fixed times. In Zurich and Lucerne, Caritas employees run courses on basic digital skills, while in the canton of Vaud, these are taught by trained volunteers in one-to one mentoring sessions.

• Digital Participation

New opportunities for the long-term unemployed«Zéro chômeur»

With the cantons «Zéro chômeur» project, the Caritas organisations in the French-speaking region of Switzerland are combating long-term unemployment in an innovative way. «Plan A» includes measures that promote more inclusive recruitment practices. If this approach does not work, «Plan B» comes into play: jobseekers are placed with a network of companies for temporary assignments via an online platform. The profiles of 150 people and the vacancies of 12 companies have already been recorded for this purpose.

• zerochomeur.org

Time gifted to children strengthens them«With me»

The Caritas project «With me» finds volunteers in 12 cantons to act as godparents for disadvantaged children. By the end of 2024, 406 children had benefited from the programme. The sponsorships strengthen the children’s self-confidence, give their parents time to recharge, and the «godmothers» and «godfathers» appreciate the opportunity to participate in a child’s development. This has now been confirmed by a study conducted by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences: the sponsorships have an extremely positive influence on the children’s development.

• «With me»-sponsorships

Small card, big impactKulturLegi

The KulturLegi card gives people on a tight budget access to around 4200 discount offers throughout Switzerland. In 2024, the card was evaluated by an external study. Since the first impact assessment in 2015, the number of users has risen from 55,000 to over 197,000.

The results of the study are an incentive to further develop the product: the KulturLegi improves the financial situation of more than two-thirds of users, 85 per cent take advantage of cultural offerings more often, do more sport or take advantage of more educational opportunities – and 99 per cent of those surveyed recommend the KulturLegi.

• kulturlegi.ch

Further information

• Locations of the regional Caritas organizations

• Digital Participation

• «With me»-sponsorships

• KulturLegi