Hi,
There is a women in wheel chair crying. She looks very fragile. I don’t know what to do. May be this normal…but it’s really heartbreaking. She is cold…and shivering. She doesn’t want me to call anyone.

Edit: I asked her multiple times if I can call someone and she refused. She asked me an euro for cigarette, which I gave her and left. I haven’t lived her life so I can’t judge or make decisions on this… I don’t know why the authorities or the police on the station don’t help these people on seeing their situation. My German is not good enough to have a proper conversation. I can’t judge if she is mentally stable or not. She was shivering and she was crying loudly. She might be still around that area.

Photo :

https://postimg.cc/cKKjfxPj

I don’t understand why people don’t want to call the authorities. Couple of days back I had this conversation with another homeless person who had a broken leg and he came to the central station from Spandau for medicines pushing himself in wheel chair..he said that he couldn’t get medicines and the system doesn’t work practically even though on paper it looks like it works.

I discussed with some others and many are saying that the homeless people don’t want to help themselves and are drug addicts. I don’t believe this. People don’t go and choose hell out of choice.

25 comments

  4. There is a tiny police station right there near the tram stop outside Saturn. I would inform them first if the situation is critical and she is in danger.

  8. You are allowed to call the Notruf (Police) 110. Always. Talk to the operator, they will decide what to do. If you think someone needs help, call 110. If you know they need a medical help, or you see a fire, call 112. But 110 works, too.

  9. This kinda shit is why I would never want to live in Berlin. I prefer my small city with no homelessness.

  10. Does she look high or mentally absent? In that case, you could contact emergency service to help her. If she seems mentality stable, I would respect her wishes and not call anyone. Thank you for caring and not looking away!

  12. I hope it’s alright to throw another question here.

    Is there any ways for the homeless people to get “decent” shoes? What about the old clothes and shoes containers all over the city, are they indeed monopolized by Humana (as the urban legend said), or they’re accessible for the homeless as well? And why are some people against “helping” the homeless? I’m genuinely interested in seeing the perspectives, no blaming.

    Background situation:

    I saw a homeless man sleeping inside U9 today, with his socks and shoes visibly torn apart. I mean… it’s winter.

    I left him some snacks I carried around, and there was another passenger who said I shouldn’t do that. A friend told me to not do that because the more we “help”, the more lazy those homeless people become. And that we already did our part by paying taxes.

  13. Eh probably some organized begger clan or sth. If you really want to help, inform the authorities that there is a disabled person in need of a shelter.

  15. I know exactly who you are talking about and it is tragic. She has a disease on her foot and she is always screaming and crying. Very very sad.

  16. Where I live there is a woman always constantly crying and in a wheelchair, running around the city.
    Sometimes people are just crazy. But as others have mentioned, maybe call any kind of shelter or emergency hotline and ask, if they can do anything.

  17. It’s very likely she’s well known and has mental illnesses. Still call the Kältebus. She could use someone to check on her.

  18. >She is cold…and shivering

    This may indicate hypothermia or intoxication. It’s perfectly fine to call an ambulance in these cases.

    >She doesn’t want me to call anyone.

    Maybe some bad experience with authorities – maybe she don’t want you to call anyone because she is already well-known.

    Is she actively approaching passers-by and asking for money?

    Sad but true – there are many fake homeless in the streets these days who do this as a source of income. There is a kind of semi-legal industry that organizes transports and housing and pays for the “job”.

    You need to decide by yourself if the shivering is real or fake.

  19. This hate/distrust against homeless people here in Germany is really upsetting me.

    Some time ago a lady asked me for some money to buy dog food outside of a supermarket in Berlin.
    Since I didn’t have any money I said I would go back inside with her and pay for the things she needed.
    The cashier gave me the most judging look I have ever seen – making me feel like the bad guy for actually helping someone buying f*ing dog food and some soup powder… Even if she was just pretending to be homeless – I don’t care – she was obviously in need…

    This whole system of “poor people are just lazy” is disgusting to be honest…

  20. Phone the team of “Kältebus” Berlin: 030 34 39 71 40 (not before 7pm) or KARUNA Sub – Buslinie für obdachlose Menschen: 0157 86 60 50 80 (for during the day)
    ✊

  23. Yes, her situation is fucking critical. She has a very advance state of Psoriasis, psoriasis vulgaris, 5 degree. I suffer the same, but very light condition compare to her. Last week i went with a friend to buy her a proper meal and try to speak with her in German. She was also crying a lot while all the people ignore her becasue how she looks, we give her a second hand jacket from Humana, it was in discount but it was very cozy. After that we left,and when we were about to reach the Ubahn, a man told us that she was always crying becasue of the pain that she feels. When psoriasis reach this level, as my doctor told me, that is also in very reduce cases, the best is to cut the legs / arms, becasue is painful, stiching and sometimes even, rotten meat. I’m very sorry for her, it always breaks my heart and when I see her I try to reach to her even if my German sucks.

  25. For future reference: EMT here. This woman could be one or more of the following:

    A known frequent flyer who will be annoying to deal with AND/OR a recent abuse victim AND/OR suicidal AND/OR an escapee from a mental institution AND/OR a woman who has just been assaulted or robbed AND/OR in medical distress with not enough language knowledge to communicate it (although that’s not likely in this case, as she could apparently talk clearly enough)

    One out of these is annoying. All others are reasons to help. So if you feel she may be misinterpreting her own situation, just dial 112, ignore if they sound annoyed, and describe the situation objectively. If they refuse to come, you did at least try. But I’ve been there as an EMT many times, and while 90% it’s nothing, 10% of the time it’s someone who needs immediate psychiatric help. Sometimes it’s even the person recenty reported missing our canine search units are specifically on the lookout for. You can’t lose by just calling 112 and explaining what’s going on.

    As others said: Luckily, everyone in this country is legally obligated to help in an emergency. And luckily for you, it’s the job of the people on the phone to know whether something is an emergency or not. Yes, like all people in EMS, I’m annoyed by idiots calling 112 because they have had joint pain in their left knee for three weeks, but that’s a completely different situation because they know 100% for sure they’re not in an emergency.

    “Fehlende Krankheitseinsicht” (lacking awareness of ones own illness) is, by the way, a very common thing, particularly in elderly and homeless patients. And while their wishes are to be respected as long as they’re mentally stable, it’s still something we’re trained to deal with and I’ve talked many people into accepting help. Nothing wrong with it.

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