1 month Ago
Homelessness in The Netherlands is Rising
This is the third ETHOS count of multiple municipalities, including Amsterdam-Amstelland, The Hague, Noordkop, Eindhoven, IJssel-Vecht, Maastricht-Heuvelland, Maassluis-Vlaardingen-Schiedam, Valleiregio and Zaanstreek. In total, there were 28,721 homeless people, including almost 25,000 adults and about 4,000 children.
Researchers observed that there are many kinds of homelessness in the Netherlands. For example, Annabel Scheepers of Utrecht University of Applied Sciences made clear the variety of people experiencing homelessness - adult men, women, teenagers, and children can be homeless. There is a common assumption, or stereotype, that homeless adults live on the street, which is not the case for many; 31 percent stay with family or friends, and 18 percent live in unconventional housing, for example, cars, sheds or mobile housing, thus these examples of "hidden homelessness" still create problems.
Cities Request National Support
City representatives reported they are worried about the ongoing issues. Amsterdam mayor Rutger Groot Wassink and The Hague mayor Mariëlle Vavier have asked the national government to implement a "distribution law for accommodations of homeless families." They also reminded that substantial cities are left with families in insufficiently secure housing when families have no connection to that city.
The Salvation Army also spoke out after the findings, as noted, there is also some discrepancy in the numbers reported; the ETHOS report is much higher than Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The chairman, Harm Slomp, said "We are in a serious crisis, shelters are full, options for recuperating and reintegrating people's lives are difficult in part because of the housing crisis".
Broad Effort and Findings
All organizations that assisted in the work and data collection for the counts in the Netherlands all play a part in the ETHOS, or European Typology of Homelessness and Housing Exclusion - 645 organizations assisted in the count. The organizations encompassed all areas of the provision, including municipal services, social shelters, health care organizations, and housing associations. The collective work provided as much cross sectional understanding of the breadth of the issue of homelessness across this nation.
