BERLINEN
About this editionDeutsch: the original ↗
  1. ServicePortal Berlin
  2. Services
  3. Arbeit, Beruf und Soziales
  4. Assistance in Overcoming Particular Social Difficulties

Assistance in Overcoming Particular Social Difficulties

Hilfe zur Überwindung besonderer sozialer Schwierigkeiten
Machine translation of the German page, 2026-09-15. The German original is binding.
The service includes counseling and personal support for beneficiaries and their family members, in particular: • Help to keep a home • Help in finding housing (see "Further information") • Help to build and maintain social relationships and to organize daily life • Help in situations marked by violence • Help for prisoners (temporary assumption of rent during imprisonment) • Help upon release from a closed institution (prison, therapeutic facility, youth welfare facility) • Counseling on debt regulation and financial management. The counseling is provided as personal assistance, regardless of income and assets. This assistance is also provided to beneficiaries under SGB II (Sozialgesetzbuch II [Social Code Book II — basic income support for jobseekers]).

Book an appointment

Book an appointment (service.berlin.de)

Requirements

• Completion of the 18th year of age • Assistance in overcoming particular social difficulties (Hilfe zur Überwindung besonderer sozialer Schwierigkeiten) is aimed at persons • whose particular circumstances of life are associated with social difficulties and • who are unable to overcome these difficulties on their own • Particular circumstances of life can include: • lack of or insufficient housing, • insecure economic livelihood, • living circumstances marked by violence, • release from a closed institution, or • comparable adverse circumstances.

Documents you need

• Application for social assistance (Sozialhilfe) • Valid identity documents if applicable, Meldebestätigung (confirmation of registration) • The scope of documents required for the consultation depends on the particulars of the individual case. Suitable documents relating to special life circumstances. This may also require proof of income and assets.

Forms

• Application for Sozialhilfe (social assistance) www.berlin.de/formularverzeichnis/?formular=/soziales/soz/so

Fees

None

Legal basis

• Sozialgesetzbuch Zwölftes Buch (SGB XII) §§ 67 ff. (Book Twelve of the Social Code (SGB XII), §§ 67 ff.) www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_12/BJNR302300003.html#BJNR302 • Ausführungsvorschriften über die örtliche Zuständigkeit für die Leistungen der Sozialhilfe nach dem SGB XII (AV Zuständigkeit Soziales – AV ZustSoz) (administrative regulations on local responsibility for social assistance benefits under SGB XII) sozialrecht.berlin.de/kategorie/ausfuehrungsvorschriften/av- • Verordnung zur Durchführung der Hilfe zur Überwindung besonderer sozialer Schwierigkeiten (ordinance implementing assistance to overcome particular social difficulties) www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bshg_72dv_2001/

Further information

• Information for homeless people and people at risk of homelessness (SenASGIVA) www.berlin.de/sen/soziales/besondere-lebenssituationen/wohnu • Crisis services (Polizei Berlin) www.berlin.de/polizei/service/so-erreichen-sie-uns/artikel.5 • Berlin Crisis Hotline www.berliner-krisendienst.de/ • Information on responsibility (Zuständigkeit) when there is no residence in Berlin sozialrecht.berlin.de/kategorie/ausfuehrungsvorschriften/av- • Debt and insolvency counseling (SenASGIVA) www.berlin.de/sen/soziales/besondere-lebenssituationen/schul • Help with impending or existing homelessness (service) service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/324485/

Who is responsible

As a rule, the Amt für Soziales (social welfare office) responsible is the one in whose district the person seeking assistance lives. Separate rules apply to persons without a fixed residence or registration address (Meldeanschrift) in Berlin (see the implementing regulation (Ausführungsvorschrift) under the "Legal basis" section).

Responsible for you

Choose a location; the appointment itself is booked on the original page.

Original

German original

Service number 326121 · same path as the original: service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326121/