December is a busy month for Sanne te Lintelo. As a Homeservice participant, he brings donations around to our walk-in centres, from meals and clothing to even once two hundred and eighty Christmas stollen. Hans Wijnands is director of De Regenboog Groep.
H: "Tell me, how did you end up at the Regenboog?" S: "In 2009, I got out of rehab. Then I started working at a reintegration company, but I got overworked there. At the mental health clinic in 2016, I heard about Homeservice by the Regenboog, a handyman service where people with a distance to the labor market work. I started doing that then. I haven't wanted to leave since."
H: "A good match, then. What's in that?" S:"They have a lot of patience at Homeservice and you have a lot of one-on-one contact. If things aren't going well for a while, they try to motivate you again. I can always talk to someone there. That's very important to me."
H: "Are you still managing to stay clean?" S: "Yes."
H: "I don't know how long you've been using ..." S:"Fourteen years."
H: "So, super handsome, not for so long now." S: "Well, I did have a slip once. Then my mother had died. Two weeks later one of the bunnies died. Four months later another bunny. This was at Christmas and New Year's Eve. Then things went wrong for a while, but after that I picked up where I left off."
H: "Is December difficult for you?" S: "Not at all. Just that one time. I actually like Christmas. Then I go to my dad and his girlfriend and we do fun things. But at the Regenboog it is a busy month. Then there are often extra donations that I have to deliver: food from companies, clothing, gingerbread cookies, doughnuts. Once I had to deliver two hundred and eighty Christmas doughnuts. A whole bus full. Very nice."
H: "And everyone happy, of course." S:"Yes, they love to see me everywhere, because I always come and bring something tasty."
H: "Do you consider yourself an Aardige Amsterdammer?" S: "Actually, I do, I guess. You can't always be nice, but with the work I do, I would describe myself as a Aardige Amsterdammer."
Text: Nicolline van der Spek I Photography: Merlin Michon
Volunteer at Homeservice, too? homeservice@deregenboog.org