The Paritätische Hessen is an association of social organizations and institutions. Like its 800 member organizations, the PARITÄTISCHE Hessen is committed to the idea of social justice: equal opportunities, the right of every human being to live a life of dignity in which they can develop freely.
It is the notion of equality, and thus of parity, which characterizes the organization's self-perception. The PARITÄTISCHE Hessen sees itself as a community of solidarity, uniting different and independent initiatives, organizations and institutions from a broad spectrum of social work, including daycare facilities for children, aid organizations for disabled people, organizations for migrants and refugees, advice centres for families, for crisis pregnancy counselling, for gays and lesbians as well as self-help organizations.
Our association strives to preserve a multiplicity of social services and facilities. It supports both traditional and progressive practices, which press for social change. This multiplicity constitutes a considerable resource of social policy and allows for the continuing development of the idea of non-governmental welfare provision.
The Paritätische Hessen gives special attention to the promotion of citizens’ social work activities, support for volunteer social work, and to helping people to help themselves, this being an important characteristic of social welfare activities in the voluntary sector. Within the social welfare sector, the Paritätische has built up a strong reputation and identity in recent decades thanks to its activities as a defender of the marginalized and disadvantaged in society. It has thus earned itself a unique position among German welfare associations. Not only does the Paritätische highlight where things are going wrong in social welfare, it also actively influences the development of social and economic policy which will remedy the causes of social disadvantage. Its trademark reports on poverty and social policy concepts are well-known in the field.
An essential characteristic of the Paritätische Hessen is its function as a service association. This means that our members can receive advice from experts on social work, legal advice as well as advice on management and administration. Assistance is also offered in funding projects. Moreover, the association offers a wide variety of courses, study programmes and seminars for volunteers and social work professionals. In addition the Paritätische represents its member organizations vis-à-vis government authorities and gives them a strong voice in the political arena.
