Pre-Christmas freeze sends hundreds of homeless to emergency "winter cold shelters"

A sharp drop in temperatures has pushed several hundred homeless people into emergency winter shelters across the Netherlands over the past two nights, while Apeldoorn has announced an emergency shelter and activated an emergency order banning sleeping on the streets.

In Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, the so-called winter cold shelter opened Monday evening after temperatures fell to around freezing. The extra shelters have remained heavily used as freezing conditions continue overnight, although authorities have not yet said how long the winter cold shelter will stay open.

The winter cold shelter is an emergency arrangement in the four largest cities that is activated when the perceived temperature drops below freezing and it becomes too dangerous to sleep outside, or during extreme weather. When triggered, shelter locations with extra beds in the largest cities open simultaneously for a minimum of three nights. People who normally do not qualify for shelter are also allowed access during this period.

During the most recent night, 171 people slept in the extra winter shelter in Amsterdam, 50 in The Hague, 68 in Rotterdam and 79 in Utrecht. The previous night, from Monday into Tuesday, numbers were similar: 144 in Amsterdam, 40 in The Hague, 58 in Rotterdam and 67 in Utrecht.

A spokesperson for the municipality of Utrecht said outreach workers from the aid organization Veldwerk are making extra rounds on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day because of the “extra low temperatures” to encourage people sleeping outside to go indoors. Additional transportation to the shelter location is also being arranged. Veldwerk also does the same in Amsterdam, but “We cannot force people,” the spokesperson said.

In addition to the winter cold shelter, some cities operate regular winter shelters that remain open throughout the season. According to the Salvation Army, this applies not only to Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, but also to cities including Groningen, Tilburg, Almere, Leiden and Gouda.

Separately, Apeldoorn announced it will open an emergency shelter on Wednesday evening for homeless people. The shelter will be located in a vacant school building on Blekersweg and can accommodate up to 50 people. The municipality expects the emergency shelter to remain open until Saturday morning, given the weather conditions.

Apeldoorn also said that due to the low perceived temperature, an emergency order has taken effect that prohibits homeless people from sleeping on the streets.

The city does operate a night shelter that opens when temperatures fall to 2 degrees or lower, but the municipality said that facility is not large enough to accommodate all homeless people.