Ukrainians struggling to find shelter in Netherlands, says Red Cross

Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands have been left without shelter in recent weeks, the Red Cross said in a press release Thursday. The organization said 435 Ukrainians sought help last month after failing to find a place to stay. More than 75 reported spending nights outside, including a family with a 1-year-old child.

“It is terrible that this is the harsh reality,” Suzanne Segaar of the Red Cross told RTL. “There has been a shortage of places for a year, but there is still no solution. We are talking about unaccompanied children, people with war trauma, or mothers with children who cannot go anywhere.”

The Netherlands is required under the EU Temporary Protection Directive to provide Ukrainian refugees with housing, healthcare, and education. About 97,000 official shelter spaces are full, according to the Association of Dutch Municipalities (VNG), which warned that the lack of multi-year financing makes further organization “almost impossible.” Emergency sites also regularly turn people away.

The Red Cross runs a short-term site in Westervoort, meant for three-day stays, where many now remain for weeks because no other space is available. “We are not in a position to arrange shelter for these people,” Segaar told the newspaper. “That is a task and a moral duty of the government.” It called for more shelter capacity and national registration to track the estimated 120,000 Ukrainians.

Caretaker State Secretary for Asylum and Migration Mona Keijzer promised last month to present a plan by mid-September to prioritize shelter.