In December, five homeless people in Assen will move into container homes at the Stadsbedrijvenpark. The Salvation Army, Actium and the municipality of Assen want to prevent people from having to live on the streets. The group that will be living in the residential units is not yet ready to live in a residential area.
The five mobile residential units are located on the CT Storkweg in the Asser City Business Park, right behind the day and night shelter of the Salvation Army on the Havenkade and the WerkPro day care centre. The site is being further developed. Gardens will be added and fencing will be placed around the small residential community.
Each container home has its own facilities, such as a toilet, shower and kitchen unit. The units are insulated in terms of heat and sound and have a separate bedroom and living room. The housing is also sustainable, because the units have solar panels on the roof. The Salvation Army and WerkPro supervise and supervise the residents.
The residential areas are intended for homeless people for whom the step to independent or assisted living is too big, and who cannot yet live in a normal neighbourhood. They need a low-stimulus environment, where they work with a lot of support on their recovery and stabilization. The aim is for them to regain control of their lives, to be able to live independently and to maintain themselves in society.
“Every person without a roof over their head is one too many,” said then alderman Harmke Vlieg about the plan earlier this year. “Every person has the right to housing, a good standard of living, access to care and full participation.”
Homeless people built their own shelter on the Havenkade in January from pallets and waste plastic, to protect themselves against the cold and rain. They had nowhere else to go, they claimed. But it turned out that they did not want to comply with the rules of day and night shelters.
Watch the report below about the container homes for homeless people, story continues under the video