Migrant workers at far higher risk of becoming homeless: research

Due to migrant workers' vulnerable position in the Netherlands, they run an increased risk of becoming homeless and then declining into mental health problems and substance abuse, according to a study by Research Institute Ivo and the Barka Foundation. The problems many migrant workers face seem to be a direct result of how the Netherlands treats them, the researchers said, Trouw reports.

For their report, the researchers spoke with 33 Central- and Eastern European migrant workers in the Netherlands, 23 who have returned to Poland and Romania, and dozens of experts from reception organizations and municipalities. They also studied thousands of records from organizations that help homeless migrants. The study was commissioned by three Ministries and six municipalities.

The list of reasons why migrant workers are more vulnerable to homelessness is very long. For them, loss of work often means loss of housing and other arrangements like health insurers. Migrant workers often don't speak the Dutch language well. They are often unfamiliar with legislation, social assistance, and the healthcare system. And they usually have a small social network to fall back on for support.

Homelessness often leads to problematic substance use, which can make it even more difficult to find new work and housing, the researchers said. Another problem is that migrant workers in the Netherlands don't have access to social shelters like Dutch homeless people do. "We know that anyone who becomes homeless runs the risk of slipping, but we see it even more with this group of EU workers," Ivo researcher Elske Wits said to the newspaper.

In 2020, a study led by Emile Roemer concluded that migrant workers are treated like second-class citizens in the Netherlands. The new report agrees with that. The problems migrant workers face seem to be a direct result of how the Netherlands treats them, Wits said. "We should try to reach out to EU workers more actively. Highly skilled migrants, or expats, know their way around much better. There is a difference in how these two groups are perceived and people turn their noses up at migrant workers. Something really needs to change about that."

The researchers can't say for certain that the number of homeless migrant workers is increasing, but they do see indications of that. There are more homeless EU workers in large cities like The Hague and Rotterdam. And the Barka Foundation, which provides assistance to homeless migrants, noticed a considerable increase in contacts. The Red Cross estimates that there are up to 3,000 homeless migrant workers in the Netherlands.