In 2017, De Regenboog Groep, in coordination with stadsdeel Noord from Stichting DOCK, will receive the key to the House of the Neighborhood De Meeuw. One condition: it must not become a walk-in centre. It must remain a community center for all residents of the neighborhood. In the beginning the clubbers have to get used to it when our target group comes in, like the participants of the sweeping team, but in the end everyone accepts each other.
"When I became homeless, the world consisted of homeless and non-homeless people," says Mohamed Mous. Now he helps out in De Meeuw's kitchen every Tuesday night. "I'm not that homeless person here, I'm just Mohamed." What we show in North is an example for the rest of the city. We can make basic services accessible to everyone in the neighborhood, including the more "complicated" local residents.
The same year De Regenboog Groep could be found in Huis van de Wijk Het Claverhuis, in the heart of the Jordaan. And it tastes like more, says Hans Wijnands. "Actually, we would like to be in every part of town." The sleeves are already rolled up.
De Meeuw