The recent ETHOS census (*) shows that there are some 11,000 homeless people in Amsterdam, with a much higher percentage of outdoor sleepers than in the rest of the country. In the street scene, this is unmissable. Experts explain what lies behind it and what can be done about it. Episode 2: the location head.
This article by Gijs de Swarte from January 2026 was taken from https://dekanttekening.nl/
"So many currently functioning people are so vulnerable, they are really at a tipping point," said Kathleen Denkers, site head at the Makom walk-in centre in the Amsterdam Pijp area, and has been active in this form of care for 20 years. De Regenboog Groep is part of the Makom walk-in centre, an organization that is indispensable to the city and is committed in every way to helping those who need it most.
It is about to open on this early morning. Inside it is warm, the rooms are clean and fresh. There are plants, paintings on the walls and it smells like coffee. Staff and volunteers are busy walking back and forth in preparation for the lhbtqia+ breakfast.
"The stress of economic homelessness drives people in that wrong direction"
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Kathleen outlines the utility and necessity of the house. "We're open seven days a week. About a hundred people a day knock on the door here. You can shower here, get clothes, exchange dirty clothes for clean ones, and we offer free coffee, tea and meals. We have an area where visitors can make art. We do film and theme nights, special days for women and for the lhbtqia+ community. At the core, it's also about getting to know people; calling them by name, making them feel seen, feeling at home somewhere for a while. On the street you are not there, or at most you are a disturbing factor. People walk past you, want nothing to do with you. We all know that. You don't always feel like such a moment of contact. But as a homeless person, it is something that starts to eat away at you. That moment of humanity and peace is the daily basis of what we try to do here."
Do you also help homeless people in the longer term?
"Indeed, a large part of our work also consists of facilitating the route towards social work and assistance. For example, we also offer help programs in the areas of debt, addiction and psychological problems. If you want to do all that optimally ... that requires attention and time. And then we come to the current situation..."
"Many homeless people numb the feeling of the street"
You mean there are now 11,000 homeless people in Amsterdam?
"Yes. Spending a night outside is much harder than people usually think. Two nights, let alone longer, that chops it up tremendously. Sometimes in the morning, because of fire safety, we have to have people waiting outside; one out, one in. There is no other way. Imagine that for a moment, in the rain and cold, after a night like that sleeping outside - or rather "walking outside," because that's what it comes down to in practice. And because we are often so busy, we hardly have time for personal contact. And that is precisely where the tipping point often lies. Is someone sinking further down or is there the prospect of a way up?"
And you increasingly see that tipping point in what is called "economic homelessness": people who have to sleep here and there because of financial problems, for example, after a divorce and because of the stalled housing market.
"Yes. An important aspect of this recent census is that it now includes the economically homeless. These are indeed people who have to make do with sleeping briefly with family, friends and vague acquaintances, with good intentions or otherwise. Many homeless people dull the feeling of the street and all that comes with it. And the stress of economic homelessness drives people in that wrong direction. That's what I mean by that tipping point."
Can you give a real-life example of that?
"There is no shortage of harrowing stories, of course. But as an example: we have a woman here in her fifties, we'll just call her Marieke. She comes here more and more often. She is well educated and speaks well. Has a background that, at least at first glance, is reasonably stable. She went through a divorce. Could not find housing - and then first the acquaintance circuit, then the street. She ended up with mental health services, in an institution where she ended up not wanting to stay. That's that sliding scale."
Where do you think is the solution?
"That is actually rather obvious. This situation should simply not exist in a rich country like ours. It is actually natural, from the point of view of civilization, that we take in people. And it is also much better for the streetscape. It starts with human contact: letting some trust emerge, offering hope and the prospect of a way out. Most walk-in centres are overcrowded, and I've just about outlined the consequences of that. We have ten in the Amsterdam region and we simply need more."
(*) The European Union's ETHOS methodology counts not only people living on the streets, but also people in temporary shelters, people just coming out of institutions and people temporarily staying with family or friends. In the entire region of Amsterdam-Amstelland, it is 13,070 homeless people: 11,352 adults and 1,718 children.