Eindhoven urges The Hague not to turn off the subsidy tap for a project with vulnerable young people. The project is said to have helped sixty young people with shelter, work or a diploma in recent years.
The mayor and aldermen call the Bouwdepot project a success. Together with the municipal governments of Amersfoort, Delft and Leiden, among others, they have sent an urgent letter to the Ministry of Social Affairs. They are calling on The Hague to release money so that the project can be extended.
Grip
About four years ago, Bouwdepot was started. Vulnerable young people in Eindhoven who are struggling with major financial problems are eligible for the support fund. They receive a monthly contribution and intensive guidance for a year. It concerns young people with a difficult home situation, who are at risk of becoming homeless and are struggling with debt. The idea of the project is that they will climb out of a financial valley and regain control of their lives.
Effective
According to the municipality, the project is effective. Sixty young people have already been helped. Although Bouwdepot has a price tag, according to the board “these young people would disappear from the municipality’s view without help”. At a later age, they would end up in homeless shelters or on welfare for a long time, emphasise the mayor and aldermen. The costs for society would then be much higher than the project costs now. “We give these vulnerable young people the same opportunities as young people who can rely on their family”, emphasises alderperson for Social Affairs Saskia Lammers.
The government believes that the project is against its own policy rules and wants to stop it. Eindhoven was the first municipality to carry out the Bouwdepot test.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by Yawar Abbas
