Theo (name changed) is 42 years old. He has been a volunteer at the Berlin AIDS service organisation Aids-Hilfe for nine years, providing emotional support for people with HIV. A portrait of Moritz Krehl
In 1998, Theo was diagnosed as HIV-positive - a shock.
Five years later, he voluntarily resigned from the church and moved to Berlin to find happiness. However, the separation from his former boyfriend, professional turbulence and few social contacts initially lead him into loneliness. Theo had not imagined the start would be so difficult. But instead of resigning himself and sitting at home until he becomes depressed, he joins the Berlin AIDS service organisation, BAH for short, to do voluntary work - a way out of isolation for him.
BAH has ten to fifteen areas in which voluntary work is possible.
Theo decides in favour of the "escort". There are three groups there: The volunteers from "Freunde im Krankenhaus" (Friends in Hospital), or FRIKS for short, accompany Aids patients who have to stay in hospital long-term. Those involved in "emotional support in prison" meet regularly with prisoners infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS. Theo works in the third group, "emotional support". Here too, the aim is to accompany people with HIV on their way out of the crisis, to give them back some of their quality of life and to be a carer and confidant.
The "accompaniment" was launched in the 1980s, during the worst times of the AIDS crisis.
Even back then, the volunteers accompanied HIV-positive people, but above all AIDS patients - until they died. In those days, it was often end-of-life care; the end of the accompanied path was predetermined from the outset.
Even today, companions like Theo take HIV-positive and AIDS patients by the hand and give them a sense of security and familiarity. Unlike in the past, however, the end is no longer predetermined, thanks to modern medication. Today, intensive discussions between the counsellor, the person being accompanied and the AIDS service worker, as well as supervision, determine when it makes sense to end the support. In most cases, this is when the crisis has been overcome or when it becomes clear that the counselling cannot achieve the desired goals. The journey together can be short, but it can also extend over many years.
What has not changed, however, is that AIDS often leads to social marginalisation.
The disease isolates the patients, they become lonely. Resignation, depression and lethargy are frequent consequences, although Theo is convinced that an HIV diagnosis rarely creates new problems, but rather reinforces psychological predispositions - as can happen in critical life situations.
To counteract isolation, the counsellors have contact with their clients at least once a week; preferably in person, but sometimes just on the phone. And although Theo, like most of the counsellors, works and has little time, he even spends the whole Saturday with his current client Benjamin (name changed) every fortnight to take him on an outing, go for a coffee or simply talk to him and listen to him.
The man with Aids is about the same age as Theo himself - and only his second client in nine years. Theo has been accompanying Benjamin for four years now. You can tell that Theo cares about Benjamin's fate, but also that he doesn't care where he comes from or how he got into this situation. Theo doesn't pass judgement, he is concerned with the person and the path that lies ahead of him. "I want to help him experience his life."
What did Theo gain from his involvement in the Berlin AIDS service organisation, and why is he still involved?
He sought and found connections, he says. The supervision group gave him support. And he has found friends at BAH, a good network that he no longer wants to do without. The work also offers him "a social alternative to the cerebral desk life" and gives him the feeling that he is doing something good. And last but not least, he learns a lot about himself. In joint supervision sessions, Theo talks to the others about his personal problems and difficult moments during counselling. "I often get feedback that makes me think and helps me to develop personally."
