Opportunities Center in Eberswalde: Help for all citizens now!

Opportunities Center in Eberswalde: Help for all citizens now!

On June 13, 2025, the new “Chancen.Zentrum” was opened in Eberswalde. District Administrator Daniel Kurth, together with representatives from numerous institutions, gave the official starting signal for this decentralized contact point at Spreewaldstrasse 20/22. The aim of the center is to provide low-threshold social support services to citizens seeking help. For this purpose, various facilities are available under one roof, including the Barnim job center and the branch of the Barnim youth welfare office.

The Opportunity Center offers a wide range of advice and support services. A central element is the flexible accessibility of the advisory services, which do not require traditional office hours. Particular emphasis is placed on integrated support, such as that provided by the social advice of the Buckow gGmbH educational institution. The focus is on topics such as housing benefit, over-indebtedness or family challenges. In addition, integration support, also provided by Buckow gGmbH, promotes the employability of families and contributes to improving their social situation.

A wide range of support

The Opportunity Center also has special offers for young parents: The infant crying clinic at the Martin Gropius Hospital offers diagnostics and advice for small children, while the basic education center at the Barnim District Adult Education Center offers support with reading, writing and arithmetic. This all happens within the framework of an evaluation period of one year, during which the use of the services and possible further developments are examined.

Another remarkable project that was started in the Barnim district is the job opportunity in the field of environmental protection with the motto “Preserve the environment – ​​shape the future”. This measure, launched on October 11, 2021, aims to record illegal waste disposal and develop solutions. Participants, supervised by the Association for the Promotion of Employment and Qualification Bad Freienwalde e.V., use internet-enabled tablets to document illegal waste dumping and identify patterns. The Barnim Environmental Agency will be supported with the findings in order to develop future strategies.

Integration and social cohesion

In addition, the federal program promotes “Social Cohesion – Local. Networked. Connected.” a variety of projects that serve to improve intercultural cooperation. Around 300 projects are intended to help strengthen social coexistence and reduce prejudices. The focus is on joint activities that bring people with and without a migration background together. These meeting spaces for intercultural exchange offer numerous opportunities for immigrants to participate in social life.

The variety of projects supported ranges from intercultural meeting cafés to sponsorship and pilot projects. These initiatives support dialogue and mutual understanding in communities, which is of great importance for harmonious coexistence. It becomes clear that both the Opportunity Center and the various integration projects are closely interlinked and together make a valuable contribution to strengthening the community in the Barnim district.

Further information about the offers in the Opportunity Center and the integration projects can be found on the websites of the Barnim district and the federal program: Barnim, Press Barnim, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.