One Warm Winter

I remember winter being brutal when you didn’t have a place. The U-Bahn stations would fill up when the temperature dropped. Muschi Kreuzberg, the Berlin label, decided to do something about it. They partnered with Strassenfeger, a magazine by and for homeless people, and organized One Warm Winter. The idea was direct: old winter jackets that took up space in your closet could go to people who actually needed them.

They had a party for it on January 28 at Alte Münze. Some DJs who drew a crowd—Palina Rojinski, Sacha Robotti, Juli Holz. What I liked about it was the refusal to be solemn about it. You’d come, you’d dance, you’d brought your old jackets, and the jackets would find people who needed them. No speeches about suffering. No benefit concert. Just music and the practical thing.

I had this oversized H&M jacket that I’d bought years before and never wore right. I brought it to the event. Someone left with a jacket they’d actually use. It’s not going to fix homelessness or change the system, but February’s brutal when you’re sleeping outside, and a jacket matters for that.