(de-news.net) – Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called on political authorities to take decisive and coordinated action in response to the recent cold spell, underscoring the acute and often invisible suffering faced by tens of thousands of homeless individuals across the country. He told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland that the extremely low temperatures merely intensified public awareness of a humanitarian emergency that occurs every day, one that must not become normalized or treated as an unavoidable aspect of urban life. In his view, responsibility for addressing this entrenched crisis ultimately rests with policymakers, whose interventions determine the scale, accessibility, and effectiveness of social support. Social associations, drawing on preliminary assessments from the past several days, reported multiple cold-related fatalities; the Federal Working Group on Homelessness indicated that at least four homeless people had already died from exposure during the current winter season. As temperatures dropped below freezing nationwide, welfare organizations expanded the scope of their mobile outreach teams, night cafés, and temporary accommodation facilities in an effort to mitigate immediate threats to life and health.
Steinmeier expressed deep appreciation to volunteers and reiterated the indispensable role of local initiatives in providing frontline assistance. He offered particular thanks to those who work late into the night in emergency buses, soup kitchens, and shelters, emphasizing that their efforts often constitute the final line of defense against life-threatening conditions. As Federal President, he has consistently sought to draw political and societal attention to homelessness, participating in public outreach activities that include hosting affected individuals at Bellevue Palace and assisting in the distribution of hot meals. He stated that firsthand engagement with Berlin’s cold-weather intervention programs had demonstrated the extraordinary dedication of both professional staff and volunteers, whose persistent efforts he regarded as a visible expression of social solidarity and civic responsibility. Steinmeier encouraged the broader public to remain attentive and proactive, arguing that even modest gestures—such as acknowledging someone’s presence or offering basic assistance—could have an immediate and potentially life-saving effect for individuals facing acute danger.
According to federal government estimates, more than 531,000 people in Germany are classified as homeless, with approximately 47,000 of them living entirely on the streets without access to stable shelter. Welfare organizations warned that existing services remained insufficient to meet current needs and criticized proposed reforms to basic income assistance. They contended that these changes risked exacerbating poverty by reducing the security and predictability of social support at a time when vulnerable populations already face mounting economic pressures.
In response to the ongoing extreme cold, the Left Party called for more comprehensive protections for homeless individuals. Sahra Mirow, the party’s spokesperson for housing, argued that government inaction represented a failure to uphold basic preventive responsibilities and maintained that exposure-related deaths in a wealthy country signaled serious shortcomings in state intervention. She highlighted the absence of systematic data collection on cold-related injuries and fatalities as a significant policy gap, asserting that without reliable information, the development of targeted and effective assistance programs is severely impeded. A parliamentary inquiry submitted by the party showed that no official statistics on cold-related deaths among homeless populations were available, reinforcing her claim that institutional monitoring remained inadequate.
Similarly, the Paritätische Gesamtverband issued an urgent warning and called on Länder and municipalities to intensify emergency assistance. Managing director Joachim Rock insisted that the situation required immediate, coordinated measures and stressed the necessity of providing readily accessible, low-threshold shelters. He also argued that independent service providers, who often deliver the first line of support on the ground, must receive sufficient funding to sustain their operations. Comparable criticism came from VdK president Verena Bentele, who emphasized that individuals in precarious circumstances require direct and unobstructed access to warm, secure accommodations. She reiterated that no person should be left exposed to severe weather conditions and maintained that homelessness and social hardship are not seasonal phenomena, but structural problems present throughout the year. According to her assessment, proposed reforms to basic income assistance would worsen existing challenges by tightening limitations on rent coverage and allowing full suspension of housing benefits under certain sanctions, thereby heightening insecurity for already vulnerable groups.
As temperatures continued to fall, the Federal Working Group on Homelessness issued a warning about persistent gaps in service provision. According to media reports, its director, Sabine Bösing, stated that individuals without access to safe, heated spaces faced potentially fatal risks during prolonged cold periods. She noted that many homeless people experience chronic illness, malnutrition, or exhaustion, conditions that significantly increase susceptibility to hypothermia and other cold-related complications. Bösing argued that despite the life-saving potential of timely and reliable intervention, assistance in many municipalities remained inadequate, fragmented, or difficult to access. She emphasized that homelessness is rooted in structural poverty and a severe shortage of affordable housing and warned that anticipated reductions to the welfare system could lead to further increases, intensifying an already critical situation.
