The report was proposed by a referral from the Grand Councilor Bruno Vanoni. The government council should check whether the canton of Bern also wants to introduce a so-called time-provision model like how it is in the canton of St. Gallen.

The goal of the St. Gallen model is to motivate adult citizens to accompany and support the elderly free of charge. Anyone who is involved in the time-provision model can accumulate hourly credit and redeem this credit one day if he or she is dependent on help.

The model is not about providing care services, but above all, about the social and interpersonal aspect. The assignments are therefore not intended to replace professional support, but to complement it.

Government Councilor Pierre Alain Schnegg (SVP) stressed the importance of volunteering in front of the Grand Council on Wednesday. However, the government does not consider the introduction of the St. Gallen model to be sensible, not least for cost reasons.

On the other hand, the government can imagine, for example, that people from the integration sector, who have themselves benefited from the work of volunteers, give something back to society by voluntarily caring for older people.

The Grand Council took note of the report with 151 votes to 1.

(translated from German by Xiaoyan Hu)

Read the original story here.