Sleeping on the couch with friends, in a tent, or staying longer with your parents. Homeless students need to be creative now that they can’t find a room. To draw attention to their problems and to come up with solutions, the Student Housing Crisis Committee organized a slumber party in Eindhoven on Wednesday evening.
“I’ve been sleeping in a tent with Adèle for two months,” says Noam. She comes from the United States and studies at the Design Academy in Eindhoven. In her first year of study she lived in rooms with Adèle from France. They could only stay there for one year, so they had to look for another place to live. That did not work. And Adèle and Noam are certainly not alone in this.
“Some foreign students are simply homeless.”
This evening the screening room in LAB-1 is slowly filling up with students who are either looking for accommodation themselves or who know people who are having trouble finding a room. Some hold a pillow under their arm and a sleeping bag over their shoulders. On the big movie screen is the text The Sleepovera night to dream together.
“Some foreign students are simply homeless,” says Veronique van Dijk. “The housing shortage is great for everyone, but for students who do not yet know their way around Eindhoven well, it is especially difficult to find something. Actually, the municipality or university should arrange something,” says Veronique.
“It’s ridiculous when two people live in a five-bedroom house”
Housing alderman Mieke Verhees van Eindhoven also came to the slumber party. Not to stay the night, but to hear what solutions the creative students come up with. “Housing is a problem for all groups, not just for students. There are simply too few homes,” says Verhees. “There are also many students from abroad who do not come to Eindhoven due to the housing shortage and that is something we do not want. More houses are being built, but it all takes too long.”
Student Anwyn Howard from Australia thinks that there is enough space in the city, but that it is not being used properly. “Eindhoven is not well prepared for foreign students. The houses that are there go to employees of companies and not to students. Moreover, there are many empty buildings that are perfectly suitable for housing students,” says Anwyn. “It is also ridiculous if two people live in a five-bedroom house. That is a waste of space.”
After exchanging all ideas, the sleeping bags are rolled out in the cinema and the students hope to start dreaming of a future with enough living space for everyone. Unfortunately, that will remain a dream for the time being.
