The column was published in Lolland-Falsters Folketidende on 5/09 2026
By Mirka Mozer, Secretary General of Danish People's Aid
It is hardly surprising that Lolland Municipality is in the midst of a serious budget crisis. And although the city council will not adopt the final budget until October, the municipality's savings catalogue shows savings that will hit both broadly and hard. At Danish People's Aid, we hope that politicians will think twice before cutting back on voluntary social initiatives.
Voluntary social work is both necessary and a very valuable supplement to public efforts in the social field. This is how the words fall in the municipality's own volunteer policy, and this is also the position we have encountered so far. Since 2018, Danish People's Aid has operated and developed FamilieRingen in partnership with Lolland Municipality. FamilieRingen is a counseling and networking center in Maribo, where families with children who need a supplement to municipal services can come if they want. And they want to come. Because it is a sanctuary that the families actively choose to go to and, not least, are happy to be in.
In FamilieRingen, families can participate in an equal community with other families and at the same time receive social advice and help with managing their finances. And the effort has an effect. Many of FamilieRingen's users experience increased well-being, larger networks and more joy in life. More adults have progressed in education and employment, and many children experience greater security, increased self-esteem and new friendships.
Everyone who works with social change knows how much greater the effect is when different actors collaborate on the same goals. At the intersection between civil society, such as the Danish People's Aid, and the state or municipality, in this case Lolland Municipality, something arises that none of us could create alone.
The municipal task is to ensure the welfare of citizens and access to certain services within the framework of the law. The framework is sometimes narrow and often there are not enough resources to carry out the tasks or follow them through. Therefore, more and more people are falling through the cracks in the system.
Civil society has a different approach to people than an authority does. And the many volunteers in, for example, FamilieRingen can help to catch people before the problems grow so big that much more extensive help is needed. And the latter is relevant to focus on when we talk about savings. Because it is relatively simple to make an operating budget. It is much more difficult to put money and effort into a problem that never got bigger. What is the value of a lonely person finding a community? That a family gets help to get everyday life on track? That a child starts a leisure activity and becomes part of a community? Therefore, it can be expensive to save on the voluntary social efforts that help people and stop a negative life spiral that will become even more costly in the long run.
The politicians in Lolland Municipality are faced with very difficult choices, and of course the voluntary social efforts cannot claim to be above other considerations. But I hope that the politicians are aware of the value when budgets are being cut – then we in civil society will have to do our part of the social task.
