The SP in Assen has started a youth assistance hotline. The socialists want to know how Assen residents experience youth care and how that form of care could be improved. In Assen, more than 14 percent of children and young people receive some form of youth care. This makes the capital the leader of the province.
The intention with the hotline is that residents and experience experts share their stories, in order to discover what is going well and where the bottlenecks are in youth assistance.
Group chairman Jannie Drenthe hopes to collect as many different stories as possible. “All stories are welcome. So everyone who works for an organization, but also people who are involved in it in a different way. For example, parents, young people or children. We call on everyone who has something to say to story to tell.”
The collected stories will be bundled in a storybook that the SP will discuss in the city council and in the college. “This helps us to make adjustments where necessary, so that the young people in Assen deserve the help they need and receive it in a good way.”
The college party has found out that it concerns 2,555 children and young people and calls on residents to share their stories, anonymously if necessary. A form can be completed via the website of the SP Assen. “In this way, together with parents, young people, children and professionals, we hope to ensure that only the care that is helpful will be deployed and the number of children with youth care in the municipality of Assen will decrease,” says Drenthe.
According to the SP, the stories are not shared with the authorities involved.