Lebenshilfe Wuppertal is an organization dedicated to supporting people with intellectual disabilities in the areas of employment, housing, and leisure. It promotes all measures that provide effective support for people with intellectual disabilities or severe multiple disabilities and contribute to their social participation. To this end, Lebenshilfe operates two workshops as well as a total of six residential facilities, two independent living groups, and assisted living programs. Approximately 370 employees with disabilities work in the workshops, and about 250 people with disabilities live in the residential facilities.
The workshops offer a wide range of industrial services as well as services for businesses and private customers. These jobs promote the participation of people with disabilities in the workforce, with the goal of integrating them into the open labor market. Thanks to the diverse range of job opportunities in the workshops—such as working in the on-site laundry facility—the individual needs of employees can be specifically addressed, preparing them for the general labor market through appropriate measures.
The laundry facility cleans approximately 3 metric tons of laundry each week, including the laundry of Lebenshilfe staff and residents. A shuttle service transports the in-house laundry from the residential facilities to the laundry facility and later returns the cleaned items to the homes. To keep track of the large volume of different items, personal clothing is labeled with patches. Residents’ laundry includes items such as outerwear, towels, and bedding. The staff’s work uniforms and other work clothing—for example, from the kitchen or the gardening and landscaping departments—are also washed daily at the Lebenshilfe Wuppertal laundry. Even the balls from the ball pit in the special education work area regularly find their way into the washing machines to ensure optimal hygiene there as well.
Five skilled workers and three people with disabilities work in the laundry facility every day. For 20 years now, Lebenshilfe Wuppertal has been using STAHL’s high-performance washers and dryers. „We always have a point of contact at STAHL, and when we need a service technician, the response time is quick,“ says Jutta Sperling, head of housekeeping, explaining the benefits of STAHL’s customer service. She adds, „Plus, the equipment offers great value for the price.“ To ensure that everything runs smoothly and efficiently in the laundry, the machines are usually programmed the day before, so that the first load of laundry has already been completed by the time the staff starts work the next morning. The machines’ flexible programming and ease of use, along with the integration of dosing systems, streamline laundry operations, ensuring that everything runs smoothly here despite the high demands.
