Homelessness: Over 700 emergency overnight places at the start of cold relief

With the start of the colder season, hundreds of emergency overnight accommodations are available in Berlin. From October 1st there will be 735 places for cold relief, and more will be added from November, so that the number will be 1,010 by the end of March, the Senate Department for Social Affairs tells the German Press Agency.

There are 460 year-round emergency overnight stays, and from October there will be a further 255 places for cold relief, which will be expanded to 487 in the winter. In addition, there will initially be 20 places in cold relief night cafes, in winter there would be 63. From April onwards the number of places will be slightly lower, at 920.

Possibly hundreds more places

Five other properties are currently being examined, it said. More than 300 places could possibly be added. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to find suitable properties for cold relief,” said Social Senator Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD). They called property owners for support. “Only together can we ensure that no one in our city has to spend the night in the cold.”

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 are converted into emergency sleeping places at short notice and are not necessarily open seven days a week.

Cold relief was launched in 1989 by parishes, welfare associations and the Senate Department for Social Affairs. The offers can be used anonymously. At the start of the season on October 1, 2023, 677 places were taken.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:240929-930-246604/1