Home & Care has opened a new locker facility for homeless people in Berlin Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in collaboration with Variocube. The second facility of its kind in Berlin, the project aims to provide homeless people with a safe place to store their personal belongings. As in the facility in Reinickendorf, an intelligent locker system from Variocube, which is operated by Home & Care Nothilfe GmbH, is also used here.
These lockers are specially designed so that they can also be used without a smartphone, thus removing an important barrier for many users. The facilities are accessible around the clock and offer secure storage space for personal belongings as well as protection against theft and the elements. The location in Berlin's Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district was chosen by Home & Care Nothilfe GmbH in order to reach a larger number of people affected and improve the accessibility of the services.
The successful realisation of the first location in Reinickendorf has shown that this innovative solution can have a significant positive impact on the lives of homeless people. With the expansion to Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Home & Care Nothilfe GmbH, together with the responsible politicians, authorities and Variocube, wants to help even more homeless people to strengthen their dignity and safety through access to secure storage facilities.
Thomas Mertens, COO Home & Care Nothilfe GmbH: "Home & Care Nothilfe GmbH is delighted to be working with the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office to open Berlin's second locker facility in a location that is easily accessible for users. We hope that this will help to make life a little easier for those affected who already have a very difficult time living without their own home. We will be opening more lockers in Berlin in the near future and also implementing other offers of help. We would like to thank the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office for their excellent cooperation in implementing our support services."
Bettina Reisinger, Variocube GmbH: The successful cooperation between Home & Care Nothilfe GmbH and Variocube successfully demonstrates that the simple utilisation options of intelligent locker systems can create added social value in this case. As the response to the first systems in Reinickendorf was very good, we are delighted to be involved in the opening of the second location here in Friedrichshain. What Thomas Mertens, Julia Menzel and their team are achieving with Home & Care Nothilfe GmbH is remarkable. They offer their guests a clean and safe place to sleep and, with their openness to innovative solutions, show that they understand the living situations and are fully committed to making the often unpredictable everyday lives of homeless people safer.
Oliver Nöll, Deputy District Mayor and City Councillor for Labour, Citizens' Services and Social Affairs in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg: "Life on the street is tough. Theft and the loss of personal belongings - including ID documents, proof of employment or documents for social security entitlements - are commonplace. The new personal lockers offer homeless people the opportunity to store their personal belongings at any time, free of charge and securely. I am delighted that we have been able to realise this important building block for improving living conditions in the district and provide direct support for those affected."
Further media reports on this topic can be found here:
Tagesschau: Facility with lockers for homeless people opened in Kreuzberg
Berliner Zeitung: Kreuzberg: Homeless people get personal lockers
Welt.de: New lockers for homeless people in Kreuzberg
