Big cities fear shortage of winter shelter space due to homelessness increase

Large cities such as The Hague, Utrecht and Amsterdam are concerned about the increase in the number of homeless people on the streets. The Hague fears that there will not be enough beds in the winter shelter because there will be more people in need, such as migrant workers who may lose their job and then their housing. Utrecht and Amsterdam also noticed more homeless people on the street.

"Workers on the streets in our cities indicate that there are more people sleeping outside than last year, that they see many new homeless people and that the increase is making the problem more visible in the streets," wrote Amsterdam Alderman Rutger Groot Wassink And Utrecht Alderman Rachel Streefland in a joint letter to the Tweede Kamer on Friday. The two are responsible for shelters in their respective cities.

It is difficult to say exactly how many new homeless people there are, the letter said. Care providers in the cities indicate that the number of people who are coming to them for support is already just as high as it was all of last year. The current inflation crisis and the housing crisis are both exacerbating the homelessness problem, the aldermen said. "It is therefore important to intervene firmly."

The aldermen sent the letter to the MPs because the budget of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport will be discussed next week. According to the cities, it is not clear how the 65 million euros that the Cabinet is making available for homeless people will be distributed. "While this is important for [determining] the local approach."

Utrecht said it is difficult to estimate how many extra beds are needed at the winter shelter. Migrant workers, who are in the Netherlands for work, are a difficult group to observe and predict, according to the municipality. "If their work dries up, will they stay here or go back? You won't know until they come in," said a spokesperson.

In The Hague, the municipality said it expects more migrant workers may become homeless due to the precarious position of horticultural companies dealing with higher energy costs, Trouw reported. A municipal spokesperson said that 120 extra beds will be ready to accommodate them.

Rotterdam said it will also arrange 120 beds for emergency care. That is the same number as last year and "enough for now," according to a spokesperson. "People who become homeless due to unforeseen circumstances, such as eviction, never end up in emergency shelter. If that is the case, we can also quickly add a number of beds," said the spokesperson.