© dpa
The cold weather aid season in Berlin started in October. There are over 1,000 emergency overnight places in warm conditions available for homeless people.
The Kältehilfe (cold aid) is a low-threshold service for homeless people and includes emergency overnight accommodation, day centers, soup kitchens and cold and warm buses.
The cold weather buses have also been on the road again since November. They look after people on the street who are in danger from the cold. On the one hand, they take in homeless people on the street and bring them to emergency shelters where they can sleep at night. On the other hand, they also provide people with sleeping bags or hot drinks and food if they do not want to or cannot be taken to shelters. Before a cold bus is called, the people affected should be approached and asked for their consent. In emergencies - for example, if a person appears helpless and is unresponsive - the police or fire department should be contacted.
Cansel Kiziltepe, Senator for Labour, Social Affairs, Equality, Integration, Diversity and Anti-Discrimination, emphasized the difficulty of finding suitable accommodation for the Kältehilfe: "I would be delighted if we could get even more offers for properties that are suitable for emergency overnight stays in the Kältehilfe."
The cold weather aid has been running for more than 30 years. The service has been continually expanded over the years: In the winter of 2011/12, for example, a maximum of around 400 people were able to find shelter for the night. The aim is to protect people from freezing to death between October and April. The Senate Department for Social Affairs, the districts and several social organizations are involved, as well as numerous volunteers and donors.
Night cafés are mainly offered by church communities or socially committed associations. In contrast to emergency overnight stays, which are usually run professionally by emergency housing assistance providers, night cafés are rooms that have been converted into emergency sleeping facilities at short notice and are not necessarily open seven days a week. Kältehilfe was set up in 1989 by church communities, welfare organizations and the Senate Department for Social Affairs. The services can be used anonymously.