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About us

Brief description

  • We offer counselling and projects relating to work and livelihood issues.
  • We help all people in the Basel region who are unemployed, have problems at work or have problems with social systems.
  • We work flexibly and without a lot of bureaucracy.
  • We are there for all those seeking advice. We try to find solutions with the people and organisations involved.
  • Most of our money comes from foundations.
  • We were founded in 1984 by unemployed people as a self-help group.

Our team

  • Counselling

    Cathérine Merz

    Social pedagogue

    merz@kstbasel.ch

    +4161 691 51 41

  • Counselling

    Manuel Schwarz

    Social worker

    schwarz@kstbasel.ch

    +4161 209 33 22

  • Counselling

    Meret Barfuss

    Sociologist

    barfuss@kstbasel.ch

    +4161 209 37 44

  • Projects

    Sarah Zurbuchen

    Sociologist

    zurbuchen@kstbasel.ch

    +4161 691 24 36

  • Projects

    Sarkis Kurtcuoglu

    Project manager

    Kurtcuoglu@kstbasel.ch

    +4161 691 24 36

  • Counselling

    Tim Buser

    Social worker (retired)

    buser@kstbasel.ch

    +41 61 691 24 36

Important people

Management Board

  • Delphine Conzelmann, Präsidentin
  • Reto Baumgartner, Direktor Gewerbeverband BS
  • Dieter Erb, lawyer and social worker
  • Christoph Moerikofer, Mediator
  • Judith Alder, Psychotherapeutin

Revision

  • Beat Keller, accountant with a federal certificate

Patronage Committee

  • Carlo Knöpfel (Dozent Hochschule für Soziale Arbeit)
  • Lukas Kundert (Präsident Kirchenrat ERK BS)
  • Ueli Maeder  (Professor em. für Soziologie)
  • Martina Saner (Managing Director Winterhilfe, Basel)
  • Hans Schäppi (historian, President of the Solifonds, Basel)
  • Martin Stingelin (Präsident Kirchenrat ERK BL, Pfarrer)
  • Udo Rauchfleisch (Professor em. für klinische Psychologie)
  • Elli von Planta (ehem. Präsidentin Sozialkonferenz, ehem. Präsidentin Arbeitnehmervertretung UBS)

The association

The contact centre is a non-profit association.

Purpose of the organisation in simple language

The association offers a counselling centre. Counselling is free of charge. The advice centre helps unemployed and working people. People with a migration background in particular are supported. The advice centre helps with social and legal issues. It also supports self-help projects and groups.

The advice centre monitors what is happening in the area of work. This includes labour law, labour market policy, unemployment and poverty. It works closely with other groups, organisations and authorities. It contributes its observations and ideas to meetings with other institutions and authorities.

Financing

The organisation receives half of its money from foundations, churches and private individuals. A quarter of the money is for special projects. The remaining quarter comes from the government.

Thanks to:

  • Arcas foundation
  • Berta Hess-Cohn Foundation
  • CMS, Christoph Merian Foundation
  • Claire-Sturzenegger-Jeanfavre Foundation
  • Ernst Göhner Foundation
  • Protestant Reformed Church of the Canton of Baselland
  • Evangelical-Reformed Parish of Laufental
  • Protestant Reformed Parish of Reinach
  • FBA, Fund to Combat Unemployment Canton of Basel-Stadt
  • GGG, Society for the Good and the Common Good
  • Municipality of Riehen
  • Catholic parish office Birsfelden
  • Catholic parish office Liestal
  • Catholic parish office Sissach
  • Church Council, Reformed Church of Baselland
  • Koechlin-Vischer Foundation
  • Commission of the working hut
  • Commission "The world of work in distress", Catholic Synod of the Canton of Basellandschaft
  • Louise Aubry-Kappeler Foundation
  • Allschwil-Schönenbuch pastoral area
  • Zwingen pastoral area
  • Reformed parish of Sissach
  • Reformed parish of Waldenburg
  • Roman Catholic parish of Binningen-Bottmingen
  • Roman Catholic parish of Reinach
  • Rotary Club Basel-Wettstein
  • Scheidegger-Thommen Foundation
  • Unemployment Benefit Foundation of the Unemployment Insurance Fund of Basel Chemical Companies
  • Foundation for assistance to employees
  • Perspectives" foundation from Swiss Life

Donations

We would be delighted if you would support the contact centre for the unemployed with a contribution.

Every donation is valuable!

In the cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, Aargau and Solothurn, donations to the contact centre can be deducted from taxes.

Classic donation

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