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Five contact points in the crisis Help that comes from the heart

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Human warmth carries us through stormy times: If you don't know what to do on your own, you will find support and stability in everyday life in these five projects - and people who are committed to the community.

Five contact points in times of crisis:

1. Family Center of the Christian Social Work Berlin eV 2. Clothing Chamber Social Hearts eV 3. The HOWOGE social counseling service 4. Energy advice 5. The Berlin table
Collage of different family center situations. Playroom, teachers

The Family Center – a warm nest for children and their parents

The typical wave roof gives it away: The low-rise building on Landsberger Allee, where children swarm today and parents chat over a relaxed cup of coffee, housed a restaurant in GDR times. In the fall of 1998, the Christian Social Work Berlin moved in. The old Café Kyiv now houses a family center, a children's club and offers for addicts. Toddler groups, dad-child meetings, counseling services and the parents' meeting every Tuesday and Thursday are now part of it. "We want to help children to look positively into the future - and support parents in their life phases," says Managing Director Judith Täger, describing her task. She and her staff are there for up to 60 children and more than 15 parents every day, helping with homework and marital problems, lovingly welcoming everyone and also providing very practical help. The social work is not only supported by HOWOGE and the church, but also by volunteers - for example with home-baked cakes, the scent of which wafts through the rooms every Tuesday.

 
Figure: Early musical education: music teacher Jeanine Willborn plays and sings with the children. Picture below: Judith Täger in the family center: Here everyone rages and laughs every day.
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More than 2,000 peoplea month visit the Christian Social Work in Hohenschönhausen and use the family center, the children's club and the addiction help there.

Address, opening hours and more can be found on the website of the family center of the Christian social work Berlin eV.

Woman in front of a clothes rack

The clothing store – trousers and household goods for small donations

Clothing from evening dresses to pointed caps, household goods and decorative items: in the five rooms of the closet of the association Soziale Herzen there is almost nothing that does not exist. You can take it with you for a comparatively small donation. Winter jackets, for example, are sold for five euros, trousers for half that – provided you can prove your need. Many of the customers have been coming for years. "It's mainly families with many children and single men," says Evelyn Witkowski. The 75-year-old is one of the five volunteers who keep the shop in Alt-Friedrichsfelde running. One thing is particularly important to her: "People don't have to be ashamed to come here." Incidentally, the proceeds from the clothing store go directly to the association's children and youth center across the street. There, among other things, we cook and do handicrafts together. Excursions are also on the programme.

 
Image: Evelyn Witkowski, who has a doctorate in computer science, has been helping in the clothing store for three years.
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Around 300 familiesand individuals regularly stock up in the clothing store every year.

You can find the address, opening times and more on the website of the Damen-Hörz-Soziale Herzen e. V

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HOWOGE social counseling - an open ear and expert advice

Anyone who calls Jeannette Knoff is often afraid of something. Fear of no longer being able to pay the rent, of loneliness or of losing the apartment, for example. Others want to know how to top up their pension. "Some only call because they want to talk," says Jeannette Knoff. She and five colleagues look after the telephone hotline for social management at HOWOGE. The ongoing crisis of the past two years has had the phones ringing every Tuesday and Thursday. The team can answer many questions directly, for example finding ways out of rent debts or helping with applications and letters. If the problems are bigger, the tenants are also referred to external partners. By the way: If you call once, you are more than welcome to call us again. For example when the problem is solved. "It's always so nice to hear - when people feel their quality of life again," says Jeannette Knoff.

Figure of Mrs. Knoff

"Some just don't know how to do it all anymore. We listen first."

JEANNETTE KNOFF| HOWOGE social counseling service

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Rent debts, dealing with authorities, fears about the future- these are the most common topics at HOWOGE social counseling.

030 5464-1234is the number of the HOWOGE social counseling service

The phones are manned on Tuesdays from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and on Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Further information on HOWOGE social counseling can be found here.

a person at a desk explaining something to a person

Energy advice - immediate help with LED lights and switchable power strips

When the electricity savings check comes, the lights go out - in the best sense: always when they are not needed. To do this, Sven Schoß simply presses the button on the switchable power strip. "You can get one of these from us for free," he says, emphasizing: "But only after the consultation has taken place." This means the energy advice that HOWOGE offers its tenants in Alt-Hohenschönhausen together with Caritas. Every first and third Wednesday of the month someone from Sven Schoß' Stromsparchecker team sits there in the neighborhood container in the Anna-Ebermann-Kiez. "We have two goals: first, to put money in people's wallets and, second, to save CO2," says Schoß. The energy advice usually works like this: After a preliminary talk, water and electricity consumption, energy and utility bills are checked during a home visit. There are the first savings tips. On the second visit, the advisors bring an emergency aid package with them, which can also contain LEDs or timers in addition to the aforementioned plug strips. "Everything is then installed directly," says Sven Schoss. As a "piece of sugar" there are also vouchers for efficient cooling devices.

This service is free for tenants.

More about energy advice in the neighborhood container.

A person in a red cap looks at the camera

Berliner Tafel – Where charity goes through the stomach

Carol Seele only really understood how important the Berliner Tafel is during the lockdown in 2020. Because the distribution of food had been stopped, it became quite tight financially for a few of his guests. "When we opened up again, I heard from everyone: 'It's good that you're back. You wouldn't believe how expensive food is!'” recalls the manager of the Köpenick distribution point. Since then, the number of people who have their bags filled with vegetables and bread, coffee, rice and other groceries on Tuesdays has risen sharply again. Sometimes, says Seele, the shelves are empty very quickly. Anyone who comes to the table in the 1. FC Union fan house is what the law calls “needy” and lives in the district. Around 50 volunteers around Carol Seele have already distributed more than 15,000 portions this year. And of course collected beforehand: the donations usually come from supermarkets and have to be picked up there.

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There are 47Berliner Tafel distribution points throughout Berlin.

The food bank in Köpenick has recorded around 261,200 guestsso far - since the start of food distribution in the Hofkirche in 2005.

You can find more information about the issuing office of the Berliner Tafel here.