A special team of counselors has been helping victims of the allowance affair since April to get their affairs in order again. This so-called Support Team is currently doing this for 175 families. Only four of those families come from our province, which seems a bit small.
“Yes, you could say that. On the other hand, we know from the affected parents that they are mainly parents in the big cities,” says Nicoline den Ouden in the Radio Drenthe program Cassata. She is the coordinator of the process supervisors of the Support Team. “But the allowance affair has affected the entire country, including Drenthe. Den Ouden therefore thinks that there must also be more victims in Drenthe who have not yet found their way to the team.
“We are a bit afraid that we are not yet well aware of the affected parents,” she says. However, there are also other things at play. “You can imagine that it is also quite exciting for parents to ask for help and there is often also shame. In addition, there is great mistrust,” she says. “And I can well imagine that. We were created by the House of Representatives. I think that also feels a bit double for some parents. They feel crushed by the government. And although we are an independent working team, we are we are working at the request of the government.”
It is also not clear to parents what exactly the Support Team does. “What we especially notice is that these parents need someone who stands next to them and who helps them regain control, especially in the beginning,” says Den Ouden. After that it really depends on the exact situation. “We help them get things back in order and then look together at what happened to them and what is needed at that time. We also look at how we can help restore contact with the children.”
Because ensuring that the children can live with their parents again is not always a realistic goal, says Den Ouden. “Some children have not lived at home for a long time. That is very sad, but you have to handle it carefully,” she says. According to her, parents are also realistic about expectations. “It’s very much about ‘put me in the role of mother or father’ or helping to connect better with the children.”
Some parents have gotten into so much trouble that there isn’t even a home to return to. “We also encounter those situations. There are examples of parents who were still living in a car when we got involved. And you can imagine that you can’t take care of your two or three children.” The process supervisor, together with other parties, first ensures that peace and control are restored, according to Den Ouden. “Then we can then see what else is needed so that those parents can take care of their children again, but those are quite lengthy processes.”
Since the start of the team in April, seven children have returned to their parents. “That is of course very nice, but if a process counselor calls me that a mother has been able to talk to her daughter for the first time about what has happened, then I think that is also a great step.”