Before 2030, everyone must have a roof over their head. It is the government’s ambitious plan to end homelessness. Brabant municipalities are starting to work on it, including Tilburg. “But will you ever solve it completely?” asks councilor Marcelle Hendrickx. “Because there is a small group that chooses a wanderer’s life.”
So you will never get the Swiebertjes of this world in a house, is what Hendrickx is saying. But people who unintentionally lose their home through no fault of their own? “I wish we would have helped them by 2028.”
Hendrickx does not want to pin himself down on a year. Action for the homeless is desperately needed in her city. In Tilburg the number has increased from 700 in 2018 to 1100 in 2022. That is why the municipality has an action plan. The intention is to live first.
“Kim needs a place to live.”
We talked about it earlier with homeless Kim, who ended up in debt restructuring after all kinds of problems. She could no longer pay her rent and now lives in the Traverse homeless shelter.
“Kim needs a home,” says councilor Hendrickx. “Her children will probably only be able to return to her then. And we know that it is in the best interest of children to be with their mothers.”
But Kim should never have become homeless, the councilor believes. “Not even if she has debts. At a housing association, that is no reason to put someone out on the street. And we also want to make agreements with private landlords. Maybe we can help so that residents can still pay their rent.”
“If they have a job, they are more than welcome.”
A major problem in the city is homeless migrant workers, especially from Poland. They actually need to go back to their own country, but they don’t want to because they are ashamed. There is a Dutch foundation that wants to help Eastern Europeans, Barka. And they will receive more money to expand assistance.
“We also want to be there for migrant workers,” adds Hendrickx. “Because they help to solve shortages in the labor market. New work can help solve their problem.”
The municipality draws inspiration for the action plan from countries such as Finland. That is the only country in Europe where the number of homeless people is decreasing. Musti Önlen will soon come to Tilburg to talk about the VZW Homie project in Hasselt in Belgium. There, vulnerable young people who become homeless are cared for in residents’ homes. Hendrickx thinks this is a good idea: “Because you want young people to be able to try out living on their own with a little love from their environment.”
“Young people think: what a mess at home. And they leave.”
It could involve all kinds of young people. Sometimes they have gotten into trouble due to debts or are in youth care. Their parents have big problems and throw them out on the street: “Or young people think: what a mess at home, I’m leaving. And then they end up on the couch with friends or in the shelter at Traverse. You don’t want any of that.”
But how do you find people who can take care of young people? Hendrickx: “Then I think of the ‘Rooms with attention’ project. City residents who have a spare room can make it available. And you don’t want to know how much space we have left. If you added that up, you wouldn’t have a homeless person left.”
Of course, people who report are also screened, says Hendrickx: “You don’t want vulnerable young people to end up with people with the wrong intentions. We want to do it carefully.” Residents who care for a young person receive compensation for this.
The municipality started developing the action plan in December. Hendrickx: “Hopefully in 2030 we can say: that problem was something from 2024 and that is no longer an issue.”
PREVIOUS STORIES ABOUT HOMELESS:
A project with homeless people in Hasselt in Belgium
Kim has been without a home for six months
In recent days you have read more stories about homeless people here. This was the last episode in this series.