In Stuttgart, a “heat bus” brings water to homeless people
Created: 08/01/2022, 17:35
By: Sina Alonso Garcia
The city of Stuttgart is helping the homeless with a special bus to better equip themselves against the heat (symbol image).
© Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
Homeless people in particular suffer from the increasingly frequent heat waves in summer.
A heat bus in Stuttgart helps and brings water and sun protection.
Stuttgart - The weather in Germany is currently giving us temperatures that would have been unimaginable to this extent just a few years ago.
Often the only thing that helps is: roll down the shutters, close the windows, turn on the air conditioning.
What is obvious to many probably sounds like sheer mockery to the homeless.
While others can make themselves comfortable in their cooled apartments, they have to endure the intense heat on the streets.
The city of Stuttgart and the local DRK recognized the problem and launched a "heat bus" last week.
He brings cold drinks and sunscreen to the homeless.
"The heat bus has been in use since July 21 for a week as a test," a city spokeswoman told
BW24
.
Now it is clear: The bus should also be on the road for the rest of the summer with official heat warnings above 32 degrees.
"The heat is getting to us all.
People on the street often have no place where they can cool off or get the essentials," says Alexandra Sußmann, Mayor for Social Affairs and Integration.
"This is where a heat bus can provide important help."
Heat bus Stuttgart: "Can also help with high temperatures with drinks and sunscreen"
A similar offer to the heat bus, which many Stuttgart residents probably already know: the cold bus.
"Normally, our cold bus drives in winter at temperatures below 0 degrees Celsius to provide homeless people with hot drinks, sleeping bags or blankets," says Clara Hildebrandt, head of social work at the DRK district association in Stuttgart.
“Hot summer days don't bring any less difficulties.
Together with the city of Stuttgart, we have put our plan to use a heat bus into practice.
In this way, we can also help on site with cool drinks and sunscreen, even when the temperature is high.”
During the trial week, the heat bus drove two hours a day from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and was manned by volunteers from the DRK Stuttgart stand-by service as well as volunteers from Stuttgart.
In other cities in Germany and abroad there are also increasing examples of cities that use heat buses - for example in Berlin.
