The residents of the emergency shelter for asylum seekers in Dongen will be in uncertainty. At the end of last year, the city council decided that the shelter could remain open for longer, after residents asked for it en masse. But Minister Faber (PVV) of Asylum and Migration has announced this week that he would not want to make an exception: the reception in Dongen does not get money to stay open longer. To the disappointment of the municipality.
Since February 1, 2024, 150 asylum seekers have been staying in the crisis emergency care at the Nestel on the Tichelrijt industrial estate. In fact, they would be moved to another municipality that same summer, but the shelter was extended by six months in June.
In December, the city council again opted for a grant, this time until August 31, 2026. That happened after residents of Dongen took en masse action to keep the daycare. A petition was signed more than a thousand times. The decision was extensively celebrated during the daycare.
“The residents of the emergency shelter have found their place in Dongen in recent months,” the call to read to support the petition at the time. “They work, their children go to school here and they are active in club life. The reception at De Nestel has not caused a nuisance and has grown into a safe haven for people in an uncertain situation. Friendships arose here and supporting networks that play a crucial role in their lives.”
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The minister sharply reduces financing for crisis emergency shelter as of July 1, 2025. As a result, the daycare in Dongen cannot stand up. The municipality of Dongen asked the minister to continue with the shelter, but the minister does not pay the extra money for it. The shelter would remain open too short. Only if the shelter remains open after August next year, is there a chance that there will be extra money. The municipality is still waiting for clarity about this.
Municipality of disappointed
The municipality finds the situation disappointing: “The whole of Dongen has worked hard to continue with the reception in a responsible manner. It is difficult to accept that the residents of the Nestel are again in uncertainty about their residence location. In addition, the survival of the crisis emergency care has direct consequences for regional reception and the execution of the Spreading Act.”
In the coming days, the municipality will bend on possible next steps. At the beginning of next week, a proposal must be made about the future of the crisis shelter, which the city council should make a decision on 17 April.
