Loneliness can affect people of every age and background. Sometimes, what a person needs most is not formal counseling or a complex program, but simply someone willing to listen. A growing initiative in Germany is responding to that need through something accessible to almost everyone: a telephone conversation.

In May 2026, the Caritas Conferences of Germany (Caritas-Konferenzen Deutschlands e. V., CKD) entered into a new partnership with Malteser Germany to support the Plaudernetz, or “chat network.” The service offers free, anonymous conversations to adults who would like someone to talk to.

The Plaudernetz was launched nationwide in Germany on June 23, 2025, by Malteser in cooperation with Deutsche Telekom. Malteser operates the service, while Telekom supports its promotion, covers the connection costs, and encourages its own employees to participate as volunteer conversation partners.

Image source: https://www.malteser.de/

CKD and its place within AIC

The institutional identity of CKD is important for understanding the Vincentian significance of the new partnership.

CKD is a German association of women and men engaged in voluntary social and charitable service in parishes, institutions, and local communities. It is a specialized association of the German Caritas Association and, at the same time, Germany’s national member association within the International Association of Charities (AIC).

AIC’s international directory therefore lists the organization as “AIC-Germany — Caritas-Konferenzen Deutschlands — CKD.” In other words, “AIC Germany” is the international designation used for CKD within the AIC network; it is not a separate German organization.

The legal organization entering the partnership with Malteser is CKD, rather than AIC International. Through CKD, however, the new collaboration has a direct connection to AIC and to the wider Vincentian Family.

A simple way to connect

By the time the partnership was announced in May 2026, more than 15,000 conversations had taken place through the Plaudernetz. The network was handling as many as 100 conversations a day, supported by more than 750 volunteer conversation partners.

Anyone aged 18 or older in Germany who would like to talk can call the toll-free number 0800 330 1111, available daily from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The system connects the caller at random with one of the volunteers who is available at that time.

Callers and volunteers introduce themselves using only their first names. From there, they decide what they would like to discuss. Conversations may be about hobbies, daily experiences, travel, family life, pets, the weather, or the ordinary concerns people carry with them. According to the Plaudernetz, an average conversation lasts around 30 minutes, although callers and volunteers decide together how long they wish to continue.

Each call is intended as a one-time encounter. The service is free, confidential, and anonymous, and callers’ telephone numbers are not displayed to the volunteers. Its guiding principle is simple: “You are important, and I am important.”

Responding to a growing need

The continued growth of the Plaudernetz also reveals the scale of the need. Sabrina Odijk, head of Social Participation at Malteser Germany, explained that significantly more people call each day than the network can currently connect. Additional volunteers of all ages are therefore urgently needed.

The partnership with CKD will help the Plaudernetz recruit new volunteer conversation partners and make the service better known. CKD will also contribute its experience in addressing loneliness and support the organization of workshops connected with the initiative.

CKD has an extensive nationwide network of approximately 45,000 volunteers serving people in many different circumstances of need. Loneliness is already an important area of its work through the project “Loneliness Is (Not) a Taboo.”

Susanne Schattschneider, CKD’s federal managing director, explained that the organization hopes its support for the Plaudernetz will give both callers and volunteers an accessible way to approach a subject that many people still find difficult to discuss.

Loneliness is not always visible. People may live surrounded by others and still feel isolated. Some have limited mobility and rarely leave their homes; others may have lost a spouse, moved away from family, retired from work, or found themselves without meaningful social connections. The Plaudernetz cannot remove every cause of loneliness, but it can interrupt isolation with a welcoming voice and an attentive ear.

Flexible volunteering from anywhere

Volunteer conversation partners can participate from home or from any other suitable location. After registering and completing an introductory online meeting, they use the Plaudernetz app to indicate when they are available.

There is no fixed schedule or minimum number of calls. Volunteers decide when and for how long they wish to participate. When they switch their availability off in the app, no calls are forwarded to them.

Malteser coordinators provide training, guidance, workshops, and opportunities for volunteers to exchange experiences. They are also available when a conversation proves difficult or raises concerns.

The Plaudernetz is not a counseling, pastoral-care, or emergency hotline. Volunteers do not offer professional advice. When callers require crisis intervention or specialized assistance, they are referred to appropriate professional services. This distinction helps preserve the initiative’s central purpose: offering friendly and respectful human conversation.

Listening as a form of Vincentian service

For CKD, as Germany’s national association within AIC, this partnership reflects a fundamental dimension of Vincentian service: recognizing people who may have become invisible to others and responding with practical compassion.

Saint Vincent de Paul understood that genuine service begins by paying attention to real people and their circumstances. Listening is therefore not a passive gesture. It can be a way of restoring dignity, creating connection, and assuring another person that their life and experiences matter.

A telephone call may appear to be a small gesture. Yet for someone who spends long hours alone, hearing another person’s voice can restore a sense of connection and belonging. Through the Plaudernetz, volunteers offer something both simple and deeply valuable: their time, their attention, and their willingness to listen.

The collaboration between Malteser, Deutsche Telekom, and CKD demonstrates how organized volunteering and accessible technology can work together to address one of society’s most hidden forms of poverty: the absence of meaningful human contact.

More information is available in the official announcements concerning the new partnership between Malteser and CKD and the launch of the German Plaudernetz by Malteser and Deutsche Telekom. Further institutional information can be found on the German Caritas Association’s CKD page and in the AIC directory of national associations.