Tuesday, December 30
Just after Christmas, an arson attack destroyed one Kältebus (cold bus) and damaged another belonging to the Berliner Stadtmission. At around 3:15 am on Sunday, a witness noticed an unknown person on Seydlitzstraße standing beside three cold buses. Soon after, one of the vehicles was on fire.
The mission, which belongs to the Protestant Church, uses the vehicles to transport homeless people to shelters during the coldest months in Berlin. They are driven by volunteers who also provide sleeping bags and hot tea or soup.
Today, Evelyn Palla, head and chairman of the advisory board of the Deutsche Bahn Foundation, announced the €70,000 donation. The cold bus that was burned had also been financed by the DB Foundation three years ago.
“Since 1994, [Berliner Stadtmission] have had a clear mission: to protect people from cold-weather death,” said Palla. Last winter, the cold buses brought 2,100 homeless people to a warm place to stay. According to Palla, this need continues to rise.
