After a period of uncertainty, initiators and visitors to the unofficial village hall Bij de Buren in Veenhuizen are breathing a sigh of relief. For the time being, they will remain at their beloved spot, the old Christian primary school on Kerklaan.
The printer in the former classroom continuously spits out the latest edition of The Neighborhood Magazine out. The guests in the living room drink from the long table, which takes up a large part of the space At the Neighbors like every Wednesday, coffee and tea together.
Soon the handicrafts will emerge and there will be a ruckus. That will have to wait a little longer, there are guests today. A group of young people with dementia from the Nieuw-Graswijk care center in Assen. For fun, they take a trip to Veenhuizen. They are welcomed with cheerful applause by the core group.
New rental contract
The foundation’s board hopes to soon sign a five-year lease with De Nieuwe Rentmeester, owner of the building. “We rented an anti-squat and that created uncertainty, you then have a notice period of one month,” explains founder Grietje Vording. “This contract gives us clarity and room to develop further.”
In five years’ time At the Neighbors has become a popular place for the growing group of visitors and the number of volunteers is also increasing. “Friendships have been made here,” says Vording. The target group is diverse. Former Veenhuizers, guests from care centers in the region and many older residents of the village come. Some are a bit forgetful.
Status holder Fajzal helps keep the square tidy and learns At the Neighbors Dutch. “A visitor once said to me: this is the first and only place where I feel at home.” Vording smiles. “That’s painful. But also beautiful.”
The number of activities is growing. From the coziness of the living room on Wednesdays, where we also have lunch together, to activities such as a classic car day, games evenings and bingo. Since this year, Veenhuizen has also created and printed a village newspaper At the Neighbors.
Out of my own pocket
Vording and her neighbor Saskia Schotman took the initiative for the meeting place. The women have enjoyed living in the village for over twenty years, but see that there are fewer and fewer places left to meet each other. The neighbors, who both have a background in healthcare, want to do something about this. They start with nothing.
When the Christian and public school in the village merge and move to a new school building, the ladies turn to the Central Government Real Estate Agency, the previous owner of the school building. Anti-squat, they move into the old school for a low rent. They pay the rent out of their own pocket for the first few years.
After a start-up period, the initiative turned out to be a bull’s-eye. “We enjoy each other here,” says visitor Marry van der Beek cheerfully. Although the ladies Joke and Alie have lived in the village for years, they met each other in the living room.
“If you are alone and you don’t go anywhere, no one will come to you,” says Joke honestly. Wednesday is blocked in the women’s agenda, so the children are not welcome either. “It’s Wednesday At the Neighbors- day,” says Alie de Vries.
The strength of the initiative lies in bringing together all kinds of different people, with or without a request for help, Vording believes. Yet they notice that this sometimes causes them to fall through the cracks. For example, there is not much support from the municipality. “We are mainly dependent on individual subsidies,” she says.
New kitchen and a van
Now that the new contract gives perspective again, there are plenty of development plans. For example, the board would like to renovate the kitchen and the big wish is to have their own van. “To take visitors to the doctor or hearing care professional. Or just go to the garden centre.”
At the Neighbors has been nominated for the volunteer award The compliment from Drenthe. On Wednesday, December 7, it will be announced whether they win the cash prize of 3,000 euros.