Suffering young people – gaming and chatting: Basel youth work reins on the Internet

When Bastian Bugnon and Ufuk Tan sit down at the computer, it is often wild. Virtual football championships are held there, they race along in car races or shoot their opponents. A hobby? No, work. Youth work. The two work in Basel youth clubs, Bugnon in the Eglisee, and Tan in the Bachgraben. But the meetings are, like so many other things, closed due to Corona. And the youth workers try to continue to be there for their clientele partly outside in the cold, partly in the virtual space.

Children and young people suffer particularly from the corona pandemic. In December, several psychiatric clinics in Switzerland reported to this age group an enormous increase in inpatient and outpatient therapies. The demand is so great that there are long waiting lists in some places. The problems: depression, anxiety disorders, suicidal thoughts.