From November, the Dargebotene Hand will ensure that Victim Support in beider Basel can be reached by phone around the clock. From May 2026, the best-known contact point for emotional first aid for Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft will take over the new national victim support number 142, in collaboration with Victim Support. Managing Director Mirjana Marcius and Heidi Minder, responsible for the training and further education of volunteers, explain the challenges and opportunities associated with this in an interview.
Mirjana Marcius, the Managing Director of Dargebotene Hand beider Basel, knows the organization like no one else. Her heart beats for the concerns and tasks of number 143, and she knows the volunteers personally and maintains warm, caring contact with each individual.
The Dargebotene Hand is in greater demand than it has been for a long time with its number 143. What do you attribute this great demand and the success of the number to?
Mirjana Marcius: Possible reasons can include world events, increasing stress in private and professional life and a lack of therapy places. Ultimately, it’s always about someone being heard, receiving attention and empathy. And that someone takes time for the person and is simply there to listen without prejudice – even when others are not available.
What challenges does an institution that works exclusively with volunteers have to overcome?
Unfortunately, the view that volunteering costs nothing is still very widespread. However, recruitment, training and further education, supervision of volunteers and, last but not least, the organization and infrastructure cause costs that need to be covered. At the same time, clear rules and guidelines are also needed for volunteering, especially if it is offered 24/7. However, we rely on the goodwill of volunteers to enforce these rules.
What do you particularly enjoy about working with volunteers?
It’s great to see time and again that there are people who are willing to volunteer. This is not something that can be taken for granted, so I have the highest regard for our team.
Thanks to you, victim support in Basel-Stadt and Basel-Landschaft will be available around the clock from November, and from next May you will take over the new national victim support number 142, in cooperation with victim support. What does this mean for you?
A challenge and an opportunity at the same time. The challenge is to prepare our volunteers for this work and to serve 142 as well as 143. And that’s without knowing what we’ll be facing in terms of numbers. At the same time, we also see it as an opportunity to consolidate our position within the social landscape in Basel and expand our services. We are particularly looking forward to working with Opferhilfe beider Basel, which we have already come to appreciate very much in recent weeks. A collaboration full of professionalism, collegiality and mutual appreciation.
What will change for the Dargebotene Hand in concrete terms?
Not only do we have to increase the number of staff and train the existing team, we also have to upgrade the technology, including the telephone system, and schedule additional shifts and intervision.
Heidi Minder is responsible for the training and further education of volunteers at the Charitable Hand. She regularly conducts intervision sessions with the volunteers. It is important to her that the volunteers carry out their work with joy and professionalism and are always able to report on their experiences.
What do you value in terms of quality on the phone in the training and development of volunteers?
Heidi Minder: It is important to me that our volunteers can support people, who often call in very difficult life situations, with joy and confidence and are an appreciative counterpart. First and foremost, we want to be present, offer a relationship, actively listen and give people the space to talk that they lack in their everyday lives. Certain professional skills in conducting conversations are just as important to me as being open to the other person. This includes thinking carefully and together with the people who call us about possible relief or necessary new steps and exploring these without judgment or know-it-all attitude.
How do you prepare the volunteers specifically for requests to Victim Support?
Together with Victim Support, we will expand our knowledge of sexualized violence and the Victim Support Act and acquire the basic knowledge we still lack. We will acquire the know-how to act correctly in emergency situations. And in general, we will prepare ourselves professionally, technically and socially for the relevant requests.
What can you rely on based on your experience with the number 143?
As I said, at number 143 we are dealing with many different kinds of people with sometimes almost unimaginable problems. From difficult life circumstances to suicidal thoughts. Our volunteers, who have often been with us for several years, have a lot of experience in dealing with challenging and surprising issues. This gives us confidence and a kind of inner calm that enables us to provide good and helpful support to callers, even in new and difficult situations. Added to this is the fact that we have been an emergency number that can be reached around the clock for many years. This means that we are experienced with night and weekend services and do not have to make any staffing changes.
What will be the new questions and challenges?
Operating two different numbers with sometimes different requirements is certainly a challenge for all of us in the initial phase. Here the anonymous number 143 with an open ear and time to talk, there the victim support number with the task of initiating measures immediately if necessary and acting quickly. The cooperation with Victim Support and the good coordination of tasks and requirements – qualified volunteers here and professional specialists there – is also a new constellation. And last but not least, it will be important to sound out which tasks belong to a volunteer organization and which are socio-political tasks that need to be assigned accordingly and also compensated financially.
How do you feel about November 1?
I feel a great responsibility to ensure that we as the Dargebotene Hand will be a reliable partner for victim support. The respectful, attentive and appreciative manner that our volunteers are already demonstrating in discussions makes me confident that we will also achieve this for victim support. In addition to responsibility and respect, I also feel a great sense of joy and satisfaction that our team is able to work on such an important issue, both at a social level and at the level of individual support for those affected. It is simply wonderful when people are there for people, it gives a feeling of togetherness and participation in life in all its facets.
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At night and at weekends, the number is operated by Dargebotene Hand beider Basel.
The Dargebotene Hand provides basic counseling and, if necessary, refers the victim to the day service for counseling.
Victim Support beider Basel is available 24/7
Tel: +41 61 205 09 10
