Visitors of walk-in centres, meanwhile, are being given more and more responsibility for the course of events, so it is obvious that they will also have more of a say in this. In early 2007, a participation body for visitors and clients was set up. Each walk-in centre now has a well-functioning client advisory council (a so-called location council). Of these, two members can be elected to take part in the Visitors' Council, in which visitors can discuss and think along about large and small issues affecting all walk-in centres. The Central (Client) Council, which meets once a month with the management of De Regenboog Groep, also represents all clients of the organization.
Taken seriously
Co-determination is thus not a sham participation. What the councils propose is actually listened to. "Otherwise we can't move forward," says Hans Wijnands, director of De Regenboog Groep since 2007. He gives some examples of what the Visitors' Council has negotiated. "One has to do with the role of the suspension committee. In the case of long-term suspensions, a member of the Visitors' Council takes a critical look: how is a suspension handled? Is the sanction justified? Members of the Visitors' Council have also managed to get the opening hours of the walk-in centres evaluated twice a year."