Heilbronn train station mission: Help for travelers after Christmas!

Heilbronn train station mission: Help for travelers after Christmas!

The Heilbronn train station mission is in constant operation between Christmas and New Year. Although things are a little quieter after the hectic holidays, the work for the volunteers continues. Cordula Stölzel, the head of the Bahnhofsmission, reports that support for travelers is particularly in demand during this time. Many people use the days to visit relatives and friends and often need help changing trains or carrying luggage. The station mission is ready to provide support here.

The atmosphere is particularly warm: the volunteers serve warm coffee, tea and cookies to put a smile on the faces of travelers. In the last days before Christmas, over 300 baubles with blessings were distributed to travelers, which further brightened their stay at the train station. Often not only travelers with travel problems come to the helpers, but also those who are simply looking for a moment of peace.

Volunteer support and offerings

The train station mission is more than just a drop-in center for stranded travelers. Over two million people turn to the station missions in Germany every year, which are active in more than a hundred locations and offer support quickly, free of charge and without registration. They are particularly important when other sources of help are closed. Care is taken to ensure that help is available to all people regardless of origin, religion or social status. The mission sees itself as a lived church at the train station that respects and promotes the dignity of every individual.

A special offer that was very popular before the pandemic is travel companionship for people traveling alone. This support particularly benefits people with limited mobility, older travelers or children. Even though the service was paused for a while due to the corona pandemic, it is now slowly starting up again. Volunteer helpers like 73-year-old Reinhilde Meyer from Nuremberg, who supports clients on their train journeys, are an important part of this offer.

A look into the future

For the coming year, the Heilbronn train station mission is planning to move to new premises at Heilbronn main station. This new home will provide even more space for the helpers' important support services. Support through donations also remains very important, because without the help of over 2,000 volunteers the work of the Bahnhofsmission would not be possible.

The range of services offered by the Bahnhofsmission includes:

• Unterstützung beim Umstieg für Reisende.
• Hilfe für mobilitätseingeschränkte Personen.
• Begleitfahrten im Fernverkehr.
• Aufenthalts- und Ruhemöglichkeiten.
• Niedrigschwellige Erst- und Notbetreuung für Menschen in sozialen Notlagen.
• Vermittlung an örtliche Hilfsangebote bei Bedarf.

The Heilbronn train station mission and its many lovely volunteers show every day how important their work is and that in the hectic pace of travel, a bit of humanity and support should not be missing. For more information, visit tagesschau.de, br.de and bahnhof.de.