The GoBanyo shower bus in Hamburg: ‘Washing is dignity’

On our journey to places where the ERGO employees' charitable organisation “ergo: wir helfen e.V.” supports social projects, we are stopping off in Hamburg this time. A shower bus, the only one of its kind in the world, is available to people living on the streets. Its use is also and above all about the dignity that all people deserve without exception. This is thanks to gGoBanyo GmbH.

Hamburg is a rich city, is one of Germany's tourist magnets and has plenty of culture and spectacular events to offer. The River Elbe, the Alster and plenty of green spaces are perfect for excursions. So everything is good? No. Because, as in all metropolises, there are people in the Hanseatic city who have to survive on the margins of society and without a home of their own. They are often disregarded or ignored by those around them. According to the latest official surveys, almost 4,000 homeless people live in the Hanseatic city. Their number has almost doubled since 2018. The number of unreported cases is likely to be higher.

Personal hygiene creates recognition and respect

We meet Sebastian Krüger, Managing Director of GoBanyo, in his office in Hamburg's St Pauli district. This is where the organisational and administrative threads of the organisation come together. We ask him how it all began: ‘The idea of sending a shower bus onto the streets came from our co-founder and current ambassador Dominik Bloh. He had lived on the streets himself for a while. He developed the concept together with friends.’ They realised the first steps with borrowed money. The motivation: ‘We are all looking for recognition and respect, which is directly related to how we are perceived and how we perceive ourselves. Satisfying our own need for hygiene is fundamental to this. But public showers are rare, cost money and are often not easy to reach,’ states Sebastian Krüger.

168,000 euros were raised through crowdfunding within six weeks. The conversion of a second-hand bus given as a present by Hamburger Hochbahn was able to begin in May 2019. It went into operation the following December, initially for three days a week. During the coronavirus pandemic, when all available public sanitary facilities in the city were closed, GoBanyo expanded its operations. The support from donors and cooperation partners was and is great, but creativity, perseverance and patience are always needed to overcome all challenges

Colourful and loud for more attention

The bus as it stands on the street today makes an impression. Sebastian Krüger: ‘We want to be colourful and loud to attract attention and get the issues off the streets and onto the socio-political agenda. And unfortunately, we have to assume that the dramatic situation will become even worse in the coming years. It's not just the traditional homeless who are coming to us today, but also, for example, parcel carriers who live and sleep in their vehicle because they can't afford their own flat. Or people who have a roof over their heads but have to save on water.’

The shower bus is on the road five days a week at three different locations in Hamburg. The first guests are usually already waiting before the bus arrives so that they can join the waiting list. Each shower lasts around 20 minutes. ‘The bus has three fully equipped bathrooms. Each bathroom has a shower, a toilet, a washbasin and a waterproof cabinet with a power socket. Wheelchair users are also catered for. One bathroom offers sufficient space, has a height-adjustable washbasin and is accessible via a ramp. There is an awning on the outside of the bus with front and side walls, which provides a little more privacy when handing out products before the shower and for haircuts after the shower. Every guest receives fresh linen and, if possible, new outerwear,’ says Sebastian Krüger, describing the facilities.

30,000 showers by March 2025

The quality of the concept quickly led to initial successes, even if some ideas and collaborations had to be abandoned - often due to a lack of funding. Sebastian Krüger: ‘Just two years after the launch, in August 2021, we were able to record 10,000 showers, laundry and care expenses and at least twice as many coffee expenses. As of March 2025, we have facilitated more than 30,000 showers in total. We are also delighted with the active support we receive from people. Our team currently consists of 11 full-time employees - including two federal volunteers - and around 70 volunteers who are regularly on duty.’

To mark its fifth anniversary in December last year, Hamburger Hochbahn gave as a gift a second bus. ‘Converting it presents us with new challenges. We expect the costs to be around twice as high as for our first bus, i.e. around 300,000 euros,’ says Sebastian Krüger. As GoBanyo is financed exclusively by donations, he hopes that people will continue to be willing to support this important project financially. When asked about his greatest wish, he replies: ‘It would be nice if one day we were no longer needed - the keyword is “housing first”. We hope that our projects can contribute to this.’

Text: Bärbel Naberbäumer

Pictures: Julia Schwendner

GoBanyo: More than just a shower bus

First and foremost, GoBanyo wants to create a place that provides support and a sense of belonging, a protected space in which people can develop their own solutions. GoBanyo also ensures open exchange, acceptance and concrete improvement within the neighbourhoods in which the initiative is active. Many individual projects flank the work on the street. For example, GoBanyo has been working with VR experts and former victims since 2021 on a VR experience that simulates survival on the street. Users experience topics that are closely linked to those affected by homelessness. Since November 2023, GoBanyo has taken over the organisation and bookkeeping for the Sonnenschein Café project, where volunteer teams come together every Sunday from 12-6pm in 2018 to run a pop-up café for people on the street and people living in poverty. In winter 2023, GoBanyo implemented a three-month project with a school for the first time, focussing on the topic of homelessness in German lessons. GoBanyo has been working with Mosaiq e.V. since the beginning of 2022 on a further training concept for civic and professional homeless aid. GoBanyo also sees sharing knowledge and experience with all individuals or institutions interested in bringing sanitation projects to their communities and cities as a core task. This includes not only the concept for building and operating a shower bus, but also many practical aids that have been developed in recent years.

gGoBanyo GmbH: www.gobanyo.org

Information about ergo: wir helfen: www.ergo.com/en/sustainability/areas-of-activity/commitment