Berlin mourns the loss of Jenny de la Torre: Heldin died of homeless help

Berlin mourns the loss of Jenny de la Torre: Heldin died of homeless help

On Tuesday, June 11, 2025, the respected doctor Dr. Jenny de la Torre died in Berlin at the age of 71. Death was confirmed by the Jenny de la Torre Foundation and occurred after a long, serious illness. De la Torre, born in Nasca in 1954, Peru, was a pioneer in the field of medical care for homeless people. In 1976 she came to the GDR with a scholarship and completed her specialist training for pediatric surgery at the Charité, where she received his doctorate in 1990.

her passion to help the needy was deeply rooted in her early experiences with poverty and social inequality in her home country. After studying medicine in Germany, which she completed in the 1980s, she originally wanted to return to Peru to work there. Due to the challenges she experienced, she began to treat homeless people at the Berlin Ostbahnhof in 1994. Daily she examined up to 25 patients and fought against bureaucratic hurdles to contribute to the fact that homeless was given access to medical care.

a life for the homeless

dr. De la Torre defined homelessness as a "social illness" and regarded medical help as a fundamental human right. In 1997 she was awarded the Bundesverutzendreuz in 1997. Her efforts to medical care for the poorest led to the fact that homeless patients regularly used their help and gained a high level of recognition within the medical profession.

In 2002, she founded the Jenny de la Torre Foundation with the aim of ensuring long-term medical care for homeless people. Four years later, she opened a health center on Pflugstraße in Berlin-Mitte, where she continued to bring her expertise and passion for the medical care of this vulnerable group. Even after reducing her working time in a former employer in 2003, which meant farewell to clinical activity, she saw this as a new beginning and gathered donations and gained lectures to improve the medical care of homeless.

The challenges of homeless care

The elaborate medical care of homeless people is shaped by several challenges. According to a report of the ÄrzteBlattes are homeless people particularly susceptible to their living conditions is due. They often live in public or in emergency accommodation and have a high susceptibility to psychiatric and somatic illnesses. Estimates from 2014 show that there are around 39,000 homeless people in Germany.

These people face great obstacles when accessing medical care. There are often clear information about your health insurance status, and personal uncertainties such as shame or the lack of trust in the health system, necessary treatments delay. Dr. De la Torres commitment has contributed to bringing these challenges to light and demanding solutions.

Your lifelong work not only improved the lives of many homeless people, but also provided important impulses for the discussion about the medical care of this population group. Her death leaves a gap in the community that has influenced it, and her heir will continue to live in the work of her foundation and in the hearts of the people she treated.