On Tuesday, March 3, Pakhuis de Zwijger organized an election dialogue on homelessness in collaboration with the POA (Platform Opvang Amsterdam), of which De Regenboog Groep is a part. An important topic leading up to the municipal elections on March 18.
During this evening, Marjam Smeekens of the Hogeschool Utrecht took us through the Ethos Light figures. Last year, more than 11,000 homeless people were counted in Amsterdam. These are people sleeping on the streets, but also people staying in their cars or at friends' couches. These numbers do not lie, and it is very important that we have a more complete picture of homelessness so that we can also take appropriate action.
Then moderator Servaz van Berkum engaged in a conversation with Max de Vries, who personally experiences how homelessness can completely turn your life upside down.
Following that, a panel consisting of Tamara Kuschel (De Regenboog Groep), Teake Damstra (Straatalliantie), Joost van Ravesteyn (HVO-Querido, the POA) and Anne-Jo Visser (AFWC) discussed homelessness and what the city should do for the many people who sleep outside, how vacant space in the city should be utilized to combat homelessness and how it all starts with housing.
Politicians from PvdA, GroenLinks, D66, VVD, Partij voor de Dieren, Denk and CDA then engaged in a conversation with each other and the audience about what they had heard and what they are going to do in the next term to solve this growing and major problem of homelessness. About that in a compassionate city no one should be sleeping on the streets. About that vacant properties should be utilized to combat homelessness now. About how in the long run there should be more affordable housing. And finally, how everything starts with housing and only then should we look at what care someone does or does not need.
It is important that the incoming council members discussed this important issue with each other and also made promises to work on it in the next term.
The full program can be seen back at the Pakhuis de Zwijger website.
"We want to make visible that there are all kinds of groups of people experiencing homelessness. That includes people with jobs or people with networks, so let's look more broadly."
"I had almost given up, being sent from pillar to post. My appeal to politicians is: look at how our aid is set up now and make it logical."
"We want more affordable housing in the long run, but we also need to do something now. When I look around and see how much is vacant, I can't stomach that. Vacancy is not a natural phenomenon."