Yesterday was the first meeting in village hall De Breiberg in Dalerpeel. Last weekend, Van der Weide helped ensure that every house in Dalerpeel and Nieuwe Krim received a flyer. “We know that there are enough people in our area who could use help, so we hope that the residents will come to see us,” he says about the meetings that are being organized.
According to Gert de Groot, communications officer at the municipality of Coevorden, cooperation with village and neighborhood interests is very important. “For many people it is scary to go to the municipality for help. It is sometimes thought that they are not eligible. But nothing could be further from the truth,” he reassures.
“For example, schemes and subsidies are not only for people with a certain income or rented house. There is everything at the moment,” he refers to the package of support measures. “We want to distribute all this information together with village and neighborhood interests in the near future.”
During the walk-in meetings, several organizations are present to guide visitors. These include Social Welfare Coevorden and Humanitas. So-called energy coaches are also present. Among other things, they provide advice on options for sustainability.
Alie Weggen is the first of the barely twenty visitors to enter the village hall in Dalerpeel. “I have a question about the compensation for the energy and I want to see how that works.”
She joins Rosanne Bruinsma, Social Domain coordinator of the municipality of Coevorden. “What we’re doing here today is looking at what residents are entitled to. Or whether they might be leaving something behind,” says Bruinsma. “But we also ask the question: how can we best reach you? Because we notice that many elderly people have difficulty with the digital world.”
Weggen likes that she can now walk to the village hall for help and information. “Then I don’t have to call the municipality or ask my children for help,” she says with relief. “On the other hand: I used to do everything for my children, so it’s not that bad if they do something for me, of course.”