In every large city, poverty, vulnerability, begging and homelessness are particularly obvious at the central railway stations. Often the motto is: look away and keep walking. Our martas guesthouses Berlin Central Station are located directly on the vast grounds of the Berlin City Mission. Why not make the most of a class or group trip to find out from staff on site how the Berlin City Mission addresses these issues and what help it offers to people in need? Our tours are free of charge unless otherwise stated. However, we are glad if you support our work with a donation:
Verein für Berliner Stadtmission
IBAN: DE67 3702 0500 0003 1555 00
BIC: BFSWDE33XXX
Bank für Sozialwirtschaft
Please indicate purpose of payment
Thematic focus on poverty, homeless- and homelessness
“How can you really help a homeless person?”, “Why doesn’t he simply rent a flat?” or “Why doesn’t she just stop drinking?” These are all questions that want to be asked and answered. As part of guided tours and workshops, we offer to tell you and your class or group what the Berlin City Mission is doing to address the needs of homeless people. You will learn how people without shelter can take a shower, charge their mobile phones, get shoes that fit, get medical treatment even though they have no insurance, and where they can get hot coffee. The tours are led by staff who are experts in their field. The aim of our offers is to educate the heart: only knowledge can sharpen views, promote understanding and broaden horizons.
Focus on sustainability and upcycling
On average, the Berlin City Mission receives 11 tonnes of donations per week. In winter, this can rise to 20 tonnes. These include donations of clothes, suitcases, household appliances, shoes, bed linen and much more. The Komm & Sieh team is grateful for this mass of donations, but at the same time this volume presents the employees with logistical challenges. The linchpin is the TEXTILHAFEN, where all donations arrive, are sorted by hand and it is decided what to do with them. The aim is for as many donations as possible to go to the Berliner Stadtmission’s clothing store, where they can be distributed to homeless people. We know that clean and intact clothing enables participation and protection. But what if many donations are unusable or don’t fit men, 90% of whom are guests at the clothing centre, because they are women’s clothes? What if wool keeps you warm in winter, but many items of clothing are almost fashionable and made of polyester? Here we show you what we do specifically to ensure that as many donations as possible remain in the textile cycle and do not have to be disposed of.
Thematic focus on flight and migration
More and more people are fleeing around the world. More and more people are forced, voluntarily and involuntarily, to find a new home in a foreign place. In a big city like Berlin, it can be easy to make connections, but the many opportunities can also be overwhelming. The many new arrivals can trigger worries and fears in people who have already found their home. Our tours are designed to help people understand the causes of flight, what it takes for integration to succeed, and to educate the heart.
External provider of the guided tours: querstadtein e.V (registered association)
At this point, we recommend guided tours that the Berlin City Mission does not conduct itself, but that have a similar theme. We ourselves have taken part in the tours that we advertise here. Digital formats can also reach other target groups.
