Van Rooijen does need a large group of volunteers for her work. “It doesn’t work without volunteers. Such a system with a village support worker works best in an active community. Fortunately, we have one in Gasselternijveen, for example with the village cooperative De Brug and an active group of visiting buddies. Then I hear from a resident who goes to the hospital I have to, but I don’t have transportation. I immediately contact a visiting buddy and that’s what it’s all about.”
Van Rooijen thinks it is a good thing that 6.5 million euros are now being allocated from the Nij Begun earthquake compensation program to deploy village support workers in other villages and neighborhoods in North Drenthe and Groningen. “Especially in the coming years, with a growing group of elderly people, we will need these types of initiatives for the quality of life in villages and neighborhoods, because we are heading for a national healthcare crisis in 2040 due to the aging population. See this as nobility 2.0, what we are talking about here. are doing.”