An increasing number of prostitutes working in Amsterdam's Red Light District are struggling with debts, that can range from 10 thousand euros to 30 thousand euros, newspaper Trouw reports based on its own research.
No total overview is available, but the debt problem is large, three Christian organizations that support prostitutes in the Red Light District - the Salvation Army, Scharlaken Koord and Bright Fame - confirmed to the newspaper.
Hundreds of Roma children are being used by family members as pickpockets, burglars or even sex slaves in the Netherlands, various experts and aid workers said to Nieuwsuur. The police responded that 400 detectives work on hundreds of human trafficking cases per year, including the exploitation of Roma children. Police officers will get extra training this year on recognizing the signs of human trafficking.
More than a million people in the Netherlands feel very lonely. A third of Dutch feel moderately lonely, the Telegraaf reported on Thursday - the start of the Week Against Loneliness. From Thursday until October 1st, a large number of civil society organizations are organizing events to show how to combat loneliness, according to the newspaper.
The Dutch government is trying to find shelter for 25 Sint Maarten residents. They flew to the Netherlands and asked for help after Hurricane Irma destroyed their homes, RTL Nieuws reports.
Dutch man Len van Heest, who was deported form Canada on Monday after living there all 59 years of his life, arrived at Schiphol around 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday. He was met by the Salvation Army and a cousin, who will help him find his way in the Netherlands, AD reports.
The Dutch Salvation Army made 568 extra shelter available across the Netherlands on Monday night. The organization wants to make sure that every homeless person in the country has a place to shelter from the autumn chill, the Telegraaf reports.
Most of the extra beds were placed in the large cities, for example Amsterdam got 200 extra beds and Rotterdam got 195. In smaller towns the extra beds were placed in the existing shelters. But in large cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam, separate locations were opened.
On Tuesday the Public Prosecutor demanded 2 years in prison, six months of which conditionally suspended, against a 37-year-old man who embezzled over 858 thousand euros from the Salvation Army. The man used the money to fund his gambling habit, according to the Prosecutor, NU.nl reports.
A man was killed in an apartment fire in Amsterdam on Thursday night. The police believe a crime was involved and an investigation is ongoing at the scene on Friday
At least 10 thousand new cheap rental homes are needed to solve the growing problem of homeless people sleeping on the streets, Cornel Vader, director of the Salvation Army's Care and Welfare Department, said to NOS.
Last year was a very busy year for the Salvation Army in the Netherlands. The organization helped a record number of 89 thousand people, 10 thousand more than in 2014, according to the Salvation Army's annual report
A man and woman were arrested in Spain last week in connection with a large international investigation into child trafficking and exploitation. The investigation was launched in Amsterdam last year when the Dutch police noticed that kids were being used for pickpocketing, shoplifting and thefts in the city, the police announced on Wednesday.
Refugees from Syria Iran, Eritrea and Afghanistan currently living in Amsterdam are grateful for the hospitality they receive. And they are expressing their thanks to Amsterdammers in three 20 second long televised advertisements broadcast on local channel AT5.
Amsterdam decided to give lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender refugees shelter separate from the other asylum seekers following a number of threats and other incidents, Het Parool reported on Friday.
The Salvation Army is now also helping with coordinating all relief operations for refugees in the Netherlands, focusing on the collection, sorting and distribution of clothing - something that is sorely needed, according to a spokesperson.
The Salvation Army is taking on an increasing amount of the care for vulnerable people in society due to the cutbacks in mental health care. In the Salvation Army's own words, this mostly involves people who "have no helper" - people who do not have a social network to help them and thus can not function on their own in the participation society.
Dutch Mayors expressed their discontent towards the government's asylum seeker plan in the lower house of Dutch parliament on Wednesday and made it clear that they see the commitments required from the municipalities unwise and unclear, NOS reports. The Mayors had nothing good to say about the cost the government will impose on municipalities for failing to adhere to the plan.
The Salvation Army has said it is going after an employee to retrieve more than €850,000 this person embezzled from this charitable organization.
A man was discovered dead in his home last week, years after his death. A neighbor tells AT5 that he has been busy for a long time warning authorities in the neighborhood of Slotermeer of the possible death of his fellow area resident.
Rainbow Group Foundation has arranged Amsterdam Underground city walks in Amsterdam for many years now. In these tours, ex-homeless and drug addicts introduce a different side of the city.
