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Good practice Imported

Connect@Station — Digital Access Point at Münster's Bahnhofsmission for Homeless and Impoverished Travellers

Germany · Münster · See the Germany profile

Evidence: Observational / pre–post Top 99% 28/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

Launched July 2023 with €60,000 from Deutsche Bahn Stiftung, Connect@Station equips Münster's Bahnhofsmission with a self-service PC terminal, loanable phones and tablets, free Wi-Fi and digital-skills courses for the roughly 140 people in poverty or homelessness who visit daily.

60,000 EUR
Grant funding (launch grant, July 2023)
~140 guests/day
Daily users of the digital offer
>90 %
Share of visitors affected by poverty/homelessness
Connect@Station — Digital Access Point at Münster's Bahnhofsmission for Homeless and Impoverished Travellers

Details

Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
Caritas Münster / Diakonie Münster (Bahnhofsmission Münster)
Period
2023–present
Region (NUTS)
DEA3
Keywords
digital inclusion, homelessness, poverty, digital access point, document services

Context

More than 90% of visitors to Münster's Bahnhofsmission (train-station mission) are affected by poverty, including acute homelessness, and often lack the digital access needed to apply for housing, benefits or jobs online.

Objectives

Equip Bahnhofsmission visitors with digital access and skills to navigate online forms and virtual consultations, including applications to housing and employment offices.

Activities

Launched 1 July 2023 by Caritas Münster and Diakonie Münster with a €60,000 grant from the Deutsche Bahn Stiftung, the project provides a self-service PC workstation (webcam, printer, scanner), loanable phones and tablets, free Wi-Fi and charging, secure cloud document storage, and beginner-to-advanced digital-skills courses supported by trained volunteers; partners include the City of Münster's social services department, the Jobcenter Münster and the Catholic University of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Results

The mission reports around 140 guests using the digital offer daily.

Conclusions

As a project launched in mid-2023 on a single-tranche foundation grant, no independent outcome evaluation has yet been published and continuation funding beyond the initial grant period has not been publicly confirmed; it is intended as a model for other Bahnhofsmissionen nationally.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Low (< €50k)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years)
Staffing & skills
Caritas Münster and Diakonie Münster, with trained volunteers supporting visitors; partners include the City of Münster social services department, Jobcenter Münster and the Catholic University of North Rhine-Westphalia

Conditions for success

  • Co-location within an existing trusted service point (the Bahnhofsmission) already serving the target population daily
  • Trained volunteer support for navigating online welfare/housing/employment processes
  • Secure, privacy-compliant document storage and consultation platform

Common failure modes

  • Single-tranche foundation grant with no publicly confirmed continuation funding beyond the initial period

Commonly funded by

Philanthropic / foundation funding

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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