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About us

The Center for Self-Determined Living for the Disabled

The Center for Self-Determined Living for the Disabled, short ZSL e.V., has been around since 1988.
Back then, people with disabilities founded the association.
They wanted to self-represented.
Their motto is: „Nothing about us without us!“

The aim of ZSL is:
People with disabilities should equal live -
in the Profession and in the Private life.
This is called Inclusion.

The ZSL has even been involved in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities collaborated.
This is an important law for the rights of people with disabilities in many countries.

To achieve inclusion, the ZSL:

Consulting,
Support and
Services

for people with disabilities and other interested people.

Our Counseling centers (OBA and EUTB) provide information on many topics relating to a self-determined life.

The AssistanceOrganization in Erlangen offers a lot of help for Adults with disabilities to.
Personal assistance means:
People with support needs receive help so that they can be able to live a self-determined life –
in the place they choose for themselves.

With many Actions and projects, for example the project „Change of perspective“,
ZSL draws the public's attention to the lives of people with disabilities.

We talk to the City and with The company.
We want to convince them, Accessibility implement.

The ZSL e.V. is a non-profit organization.
That means:
We want to no profit make.
It is important for us to do something for the company to do.

ZSL has been committed to helping people with disabilities for many years.
For this work, the ZSL many awards get.
This shows that our work is important and successful.

The video shows how the ZSL was created.

In the beginning, there was a group of students.
They wanted more accessibility and personal assistance at the university.

This idea later became a permanent contact point for people with disabilities.

The video also shows:
ZSL has evolved over many years.
Today, it is an important place for participation and inclusion.

Christian Pfeuffer - Managing Director

Since the July 1, 2025 is Christian Pfeuffer the manager of the ZSL Erlangen.
He comes from Erlangen and has Business administration studied (Master's degree).

Christian Pfeuffer has a Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA).
He needs support in everyday life and organizes this help himself.
This is called Employer model:
He is the boss of his assistants.

He knows well from his own experience:

what good assistance should look like,
how important processes can be clear and simple,
how collaboration works reliably.

Christian Pfeuffer says:

„I want people to be able to make their own decisions in everyday life.
I want to ensure participation.
I want to break down barriers step by step.“

Its tasks include:

the association develop further,
for good quality in Assistance and Consulting provide,
on Money and Personnel and to provide open information about this,
with the City, with other facilities and with the Civil society to work well together.

He attaches great importance to:

Comprehensible processes,
digital aids, if they really help,
one Clear and open communication
- with people with disabilities, with relatives and with employees.

Important topics for him are:

Support close to home,
Easy access to Consulting,
more Accessibility in
- Education,
- Work,
- Living and
- Mobility (e.g. bus, train, routes)

This is how Christian Pfeuffer works:

He listens well.
He works with others to find solutions.
He would like to:

decide together what is important,
agree clear and measurable goals and
these goals practical implement.

He combines his Own experience with assistance with his knowledge from the Economic science.

One focus of his work is:
People with disabilities should be able to take advantage of health and support services. have your say and help shape.
This results in solutions that Really effective are.

Christian Pfeuffer says:

„Good assistance and clear processes are not an end in themselves.
You give people Freedom, so that they can live their lives the way they want to.“

The association council introduces itself

Sylke Stricker

I have been closely associated with ZSL and the city of Erlangen for over 30 years as a member and customer and through my many years of work at the ZSL advice center.
And now that I'm retired, I'm not bored, but I want to continue my commitment to the ZSL and its important work. It is impossible to imagine the social landscape of Erlangen without the ZSL, but it still takes a lot of effort to ensure that accessibility, equal participation and a self-determined, dignified life for people with disabilities become a matter of course in our society.

Theresia Herden

„Hope is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.“
This sentence by Václav Havel has accompanied me through my life for many years. It gives me strength, energy and fighting spirit when I realize once again how far away we are from an inclusive society in Germany. How many superfluous hurdles and barriers there still are that make life even more difficult for so many people with a disability.
Standing up against violence against women with disabilities is a matter close to my heart. I would be delighted to hear from like-minded people who would like to support me.

Marie Sieger

I am Marie, 25 years old. I moved to Erlangen for my studies and have been living with assistance organized by the ZSL ever since. Today I am working on my doctoral thesis - this is possible for me thanks to dedicated assistants and the ZSL.
In addition to my role as a customer, I run training courses on topics such as the relationship between assistants and customers, self-determination and closeness and distance. I am also a member of the association council and contribute to the strategic development of ZSL.“

Josef Fleischmann

„If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” - Sir Isaac Newton, 1675
Looking back, as a “millennial”, I was able to practically “settle into the nest”: Free choice of school type (Abitur 2013 in Altdorf near Nuremberg), moving out of the parental home and studying in Stuttgart with assistance, access to the primary labor market and ongoing doctorate at the University of Valencia, Spain. The opportunity to develop in this way with a muscle disease (SMA) is based on the tireless social and political commitment of the people who founded the ZSL Erlangen and have campaigned for an inclusive society.
As a member of the ZSL Association Council, I would like to play my part in ensuring that we not only defend the achievements of recent decades, but actively build on them, even in politically uncertain times. It is particularly important to me that self-determined assistance remains reliably and purposefully accessible, that young people with disabilities are given real opportunities for education and employment and that ZSL remains a reliable employer for its staff.

Samuel Faber

My name is Samuel Faber and I am 29 years old. I originally come from the Nuremberg region. I have been receiving support in the form of personal assistance from ZSL since I started my studies. The assistance supports me in my everyday life and enables me to participate in society. As a result, I was able to complete my degree in electrical engineering with great success. This paved the way for me to work as a research assistant at FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg. Unfortunately, people with disabilities often face unnecessary barriers that stand in the way of developing their potential. Through my involvement in the Association Council, I would like to consciously draw attention to barriers and find solutions together to remove them.