Hotel, job offered to homeless man photographed in Groningen station
The Spirit of Christmas was alive and well in Groningen this week, where a hotelier stepped forward to provide shelter to a young homeless man in the city, and another company offered him a job. A photograph posted to Twitter on Christmas Eve garnered attention as it showed a young man curled up in a brick corner of the Groningen train station.
The 20-year-old was shown bundled up and asleep, with the station's brightly-lit Christmas tree in the background. Joram Krol took the photograph as part of a series of images he uses to help non-profit Stichting Straatwijs raise awareness of homelessness in the Netherlands.
Krol said on Facebook that he first met the man on December 18th when he captured the man in a photo at the station. Krol caught the more iconic image six days later, and the two spent time together smoking cigarettes and sharing their stories.
https://twitter.com/Joram_Krol/status/1077219229642964993
https://twitter.com/Joram_Krol/status/1074557589277605888
The image eventually made its way to staffers at the NH Groningen. The hotel offered to provide a room to the young man for free through Boxing Day. Straatwijs is helping to cover the cost of the room through New Year's Day.
https://twitter.com/Straatwijs/status/1077880871229812736
Flooring sales company Laminaat Fabrieksverkoop Koldingweg in Groningen found the story through the Facebook page of youth organization Sikkom. The company offered the young man a job when it reopens after the vacation period on January 4.
The man will be able to begin as a trade worker installing laminate floors if he accepts the job offer.
Krol said Christmas 2018 was already a holiday which he will never forget.
https://www.facebook.com/sikkom/posts/1788783637898811?comment_id=1788786411231867&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%2342%22%7D