Florian Pick fights for mental health: alarming numbers coincide!

Florian Pick, hotel director of the Ameron Bonn Hotel Königshof, will be ambassador to the municipal psychiatry Bonn-Rhein-Sieg in 2024. In this function, he would like to draw attention to the alarming number of health insurance numbers regarding mental illnesses. Statistically speaking, every third person is affected by a mental illness annually, while around 40 % of young people have a psychiatric diagnosis. Pick intends to show ways out of the crisis for those affected and their relatives and plans to clarify the public about mental illnesses.

Wolfgang Pütz, board member of the foundation, expressed concern about impending budget cuts that could result in existential needs, homelessness and increased suicidality. Bonn therefore needs sufficient help for over 1,000 psychiatric acutation beds. Florian Pick belongs to 18 ambassadors who support the goals of the foundation. Planned common events are supposed to attract both the topic of mental illnesses and generate donations.

growing challenges in the field of mental health

In a report by the municipal psychiatry Foundation,

parallel to Picks commitment is pointed out to the worrying increase in mental illnesses that have reached a high in the past ten years. According to the DAK Psychreport in March 2024, sick leave due to mental illnesses rose by 21 %last year. In 2023, an average of 3.2 mentally related absent days per capita was recorded, in 2022 it was 3.0 days. Overall, there was an increase of 52 % of mental illnesses from 2013 to 2023.

depression represent the most common mental illnesses, followed by stress reactions and adaptation disorders, the frequency of which has increased by 29 %. Professional groups such as educators, social workers, theologians and specialists in geriatric care are particularly affected

In addition, Pick emphasizes the role of company-integrated educational and workplaces that enable people with mental illnesses to work in the first labor market. Around 70 people are currently working through the subsidiary GVP Bonn-Rhein-Sieg gGmbH in external educational and workplaces. Both pick and Pütz call for best practice examples and a social sensitization for the topic of mental illnesses. The donation account of the foundation is: Sparkasse Cologne Bonn, IBAN: DE19 3705 0198 1934 6681 77, Swift/BIC: Colsde33.