The clothing bank at the Omloop in Beilen urgently needs a new home. This is evident from a call made by the board of the Advisory Council for Minima Policy in Central Drenthe. In a letter, the board calls the current location ‘unworkable’ and ‘sickening’.
“It is impossible to get warm in the winter and in the summer it is very hot. The roof is leaking and cannot be repaired because it contains asbestos. Due to the leakage, it is regularly so wet that the clothing is damp. It stinks and there is mold formation,” the board describes. Residents of other municipalities such as Assen, Tynaarlo and Aa en Hunze also use the clothing bank.
The board especially hopes that the municipality of Midden-Drenthe will take action quickly for the volunteers who work there and the visitors who come there. Talks have been going on about the situation for eight years now. “We experience good intentions on the part of the municipality when looking for a solution for housing at a different location. We are looking for vacant space that is suitable or can be made for this purpose. It always turns out that there is not.”
That while the urgency is only becoming clearer in this time. “Residents with a low income can go there for clothing, household items and toys,” the letter says. “When furnishing the reception locations, the stock of household items and bed linen could be called upon. Collection campaigns were organized for what was not in stock, such as initially for thirty beds.”
The measure is now full, according to the advisory council. There must be an alternative. The board hopes for an empty piece of land with a shed, such as the thrift store in Ruinerwold. “Why not tear down the current building and build a warehouse of this kind in its place. In the meantime, let the Clothing Bank and Food Bank spend the winter in Scapino’s vacant building on the Weverstraat?”