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.
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.
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.
