Working poor rising sharply as poverty assistance waiting lists double

Poverty organizations are struggling to keep up with the increasing demand for their aid. One in nine organizations currently have waiting lists, according to a survey by the Poverty Fund among 375 aid organizations throughout the country. They attribute the increase to people with jobs and typical incomes who can’t make ends meet, RTL Nieuws reports.

Over half of poverty aid organizations told the Poverty Fund that they’re facing an increase in requests for help compared to six months ago. “And then the demand was already high,” Henk de Graaf, director of the Poverty Fund, told RTL. “We were shocked.” The waiting lists mean “people cannot be helped and will be left out in the cold this winter,” he stressed.

“We see more and more people with a job. So, with a normal income. But because of inflation, the high costs of groceries and energy, they simply cannot make it to the end of the month,” De Graaf said. “These are single parents and families with children. The fact that it affects children makes it even more poignant.”

Hanan (43) and her two sons have received help from the De Melkkan foundation in Zeeland for years. Hanan almost always had administrative jobs, but due to setbacks, she was unable to make ends meet. “I just can’t make it every month. Groceries, clothes, everything is very expensive,” she told RTL, calling De Melkkan a salvation for her and her boys. “My children grew up here. The foundation saved our lives.”

De Melkkan helps families in poverty. “People can get food here, fresh fruit, and clothing. We are mainly here for the children. For example, we arrange bicycles and organize day trips,” volunteer Alex Eggermont told the broadcaster. “But it’s getting busier and busier. We now have 35 people on a waiting list. But a number on the waiting list often represents an entire daily, so we are talking about more than 100 people, including children.”

“We work day and night, but we cannot meet the demand,” Eggermont said, adding that he has sleepless nights about it. “I think it is worst for the children. They can’t do anything about growing up in a poor family. Because we can’t help them, children go to school without food and fruit. That happens in our country. That keeps me up at night.”

He also told RTL that the increasing need comes from people with work and a regular income. “Everyone thinks that if you work, you can make ends meet. But that is really no longer the case.”