Prenzlauer Berg neighbours launch 'Sun Helmi' initiative for homeless

In Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg, a group of residents has launched the "Sun Helmi" initiative to help homeless people living on their streets and bridge tensions in the gentrified neighbourhood, Tagesspiegel reported on October 1, 2026. The project combines a small, insulated "tiny house" where unhoused people can sleep safely with regular shower invitations in private flats, meal-sharing and legal counselling. Organisers say the daily contact between long-established residents, newcomers and homeless neighbours around Helmholtzplatz has gradually turned mutual distrust into cautious friendships, with examples such as an elderly resident regularly having coffee and cake with a man who used to sleep rough on her doorstep. The initiative is funded through private donations and small grants from the district of Pankow. Social workers hope the model, modelled on similar projects in Hamburg and Vienna, can be replicated in other Berlin neighbourhoods where tensions around visible poverty have grown.