The crisis emergency shelters for 225 asylum seekers in Drenthe are closed today. Replacement accommodation has not yet been found for the majority of them. There is a chance that they will have to be transferred to the emergency night shelter in Stadskanaal and Zuidbroek on Wednesday evening.
The crisis emergency shelters in Emmen, Ruinen and Stadskanaal were put into use at the end of last month, on the condition that they would be closed again after two weeks. This period has now expired.
Fifty of the 225 asylum seekers have now moved on to regular reception centers (AZCs). There is still no clarity at the start of the evening for the other 175. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) is trying to arrange a place to sleep for this group elsewhere in the country.
As the hours go by, the chance increases that this will no longer be possible today. In that case, the group will be transferred to the emergency night shelter locations in Stadskanaal and Zuidbroek.
Under certain conditions, the COA can make use of this fall-back option several times a week. For example, there must be sufficient supervision. Furthermore, the asylum seekers must have left the next day.
This is indicative of the situation that COA has been struggling with for months. The reception organization finds it very difficult every day to find sufficient (crisis) emergency reception places for the asylum seekers who report to Ter Apel.