Overview
- Berlin’s social administration added more than 100 emergency places, raising weekend capacity to 1,256, with new sites in Mariendorf (50) and at Kottbusser Tor (30) slated to open next week.
- The Senate directed police to allow access to warm spaces, told hospitals not to discharge people to the streets and to admit those without insurance cards, and identified libraries as indoor refuges.
- BVG and S‑Bahn reiterated that stations cannot be official overnight shelters for safety reasons, yet staff are to use discretion and not remove people in life‑threatening cold; BVG stations stay open on weekend nights.
- Charities and Kältebus services report heavy demand and late‑night full shelters in several cities, while NRW’s evangelical homelessness group urges 24/7 operations and asks residents to donate or call hotlines.
- The national homelessness federation reports at least four cold‑related deaths this winter and estimates roughly 56,000 people are sleeping rough across Germany.