Ströer supports the Off Road Kids Foundation

Sofahopper.help campaign draws attention to first virtual streetwork station in Germany

In Germany, around 38,000 young people are at risk of or affected by homelessness. This alarming phenomenon, which mainly affects minors and young adults, is often overlooked or not given enough attention. To draw attention to this, the Off Road Kids Foundation has launched the Sofahopper.help initiative. Ströer supports the initiative with large-scale, digital outdoor advertising and a campaign aimed particularly at parents. The provocative question "What if YOUR child is sitting on the street?" is intended to draw attention to the problem of sofahoppers and increase parents' awareness that their own children or young people in their social circle could also be affected by homelessness. Under the patronage of First Lady Elke Büdenbender, the campaign aims to raise public awareness of these disadvantaged young people.

Sofahoppers are no ordinary couch surfers enjoying Berlin's nightlife. They are desperate minors and young adults whose homes have become so unbearable that they are forced to move from couch to couch. In Germany, there are around 38,000 minors and young adults a year who are threatened with homelessness or are already living on the streets. Sofahopper.help is the first virtual streetwork station in Germany. The Off Road Kids Foundation has created a unique offer of help that combines digital counselling with personal support from social workers in streetwork stations in Berlin, Hamburg, Dortmund, Cologne and Frankfurt.

"We are convinced and happy to support the work of the Off Road Kids Foundation. The international term for outdoor advertising is Out of Home and implies that there is a home. Homeless young people, street children and runaways, as the weakest members of our society, have contact persons in emergency situations in Off Road Kids - with the aim of eventually having a real home again and thus developing an individual and best possible perspective for the future. This work deserves the greatest respect - and support!" says Alexander Stotz, CEO of Ströer Media Deutschland GmbH.

The campaign has already led to the first calls for help at Sofahopper.help. A young woman from the Dortmund area contacted the service via chat and asked for help after she had heard about the Off Road Kids Foundation's initiative via a Ströer medium. She thanked us and wrote: "I feel like giving you a hug ;-)".

About Off Road Kids

The aid organisation Off Road Kids has been caring for homeless young people since 1993. During this time, 10,000 young people have already been taken off the street or the couch and successfully placed in safe housing. The long-term goal of the foundation is to help homeless young people and to ensure that homelessness does not have to be a reality in Germany.

www.offroadkids.de