DIGITALES ZUHAUSE — Individualised Digital Coaching for Homeless People in Berlin

DIGITALES ZUHAUSE is a project of Neue Chance, a Berlin social-services nonprofit, launched in May 2020 with initial funding from Aktion Mensch to connect homeless people to devices and the internet.

Participants receive a device — smartphone, laptop, computer or tablet — plus individualised training led by experienced social workers covering housing-search platforms, word processing, email, social media and online-safety awareness, tailored to each person's needs and starting point.

The project reports reaching more than 200 participants in its first two years of operation. It won the German Digital Prize (Deutscher Digitalpreis) in June 2022 and received the Wichernplakette, the highest honour of the Diakonisches Werk Berlin-Brandenburg-schlesische Oberlausitz, in June 2023, and was a 2023 nominee for the Deutscher Engagementpreis in the Digital Togetherness category.

Caveat: after its initial Aktion Mensch grant period ended in October 2020, the project has run solely on donations. Publicly available sources report participation counts and award recognition but do not disclose a formal outcome-evaluation study (for example, housing or employment placement rates).

Read the full analysis: https://neuechance.berlin/digitales-zuhause