ON THE SOAP BOX: Stefanie of Emergency Cabins

Self-direction through one's own place

Stefanie Nijenbandring de Boer is developing Emergency Cabins. First and foremost, they offer privacy. "When you're homeless, that's often the first thing you lose."

"Having your own place where you can literally pull a door shut behind you does a tremendous amount to a person. It's not just about sleeping, it's also about unwinding and being able to feel like yourself again for a while."

The cabin was deliberately designed to be as simple as possible. Six plates that you slide together without specialist tools. That makes the system cheap, durable and quick to deploy. This makes it suitable for emergency situations, such as winter shelter, but also for economically homeless people who temporarily fall between two stools. In fact, the cabins are designed to be placed in vacant offices, sheds, gymnasiums or other temporary vacancies. Think of an office floor that is vacant for six months: you can place several cabins there without major renovations. That way you use space that is already there and people do not have to lie in large dormitories.

In a dormitory, you often see people using cloths to screen their beds themselves. That says everything about how great the need for privacy is. With a cabin, you give someone a defined space: a place for personal belongings. People can charge their phones and store their passports there. That gives peace of mind and a sense of security. Having your own space also makes people feel more in control. You have less stimuli, less stress from others around you and you don't have to search for the next place to sleep. That can help you look forward again, for example toward work and more stable housing. This solution supports the idea that the tranquility of a private space helps to shorten time in shelter and promote throughput. We ourselves come from the commercial sector and are developing this from our own resources. This is precisely why we hope that municipalities and property owners will embrace this type of initiative, although we are currently running into regulations that create unnecessary obstacles to helping people quickly. The solution is often already there, you just have to make it possible."