Photo: Municipality of Nijmegen
There is a lot to do about the emergency reception of asylum seekers in municipalities. The National Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children are starting an investigation into the living conditions of families in shelters. Nijmegen will open a new temporary large crisis emergency shelter for 1200 people in mid-April. In the meantime, municipalities are also looking for more permanent shelters.
The crisis emergency reception locations of municipalities for refugees are under pressure. The Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (IGJ) states that asylum seekers in emergency shelters run major health risks. The VNG responds to this by saying that municipalities are ‘making do with what they have’.
The Ombudsman
Now the National Ombudsman and the Ombudsman for Children will also investigate crisis emergency care. They have been receiving complaints and signals for some time about problems with the reception of asylum seekers and status holders. Not only from families themselves, but also from the agencies that assist them. Many of those complaints and signals concern crisis emergency care.
The ombudsmen say they regularly draw attention to the harrowing situation of families in emergency shelters. ‘Despite the efforts and involvement of many parties, there seems to be no improvement in this situation. The problems persist and are even getting worse.’ That is why they are investigating why and on what points it is not possible to organize crisis emergency care of sufficient quality.
Quality
The quality of the reception is determined by the ombudsmen on the basis of a human and children’s rights framework. This leads to the obligations for the (local) government. They want to provide insight into how current asylum reception works in practice from this perspective. And to what extent governments can ensure that the current situation improves quickly. The study is expected to be completed by mid-2023.
Nijmegen
Nijmegen announced yesterday that it would open a new temporary crisis emergency shelter for 1200 people in mid-April. ‘Because the need is great, there is little time to prepare. The municipality is setting up the site as soon as possible.’ Six pavilions will be built with heated sleeping areas and 50 residential units, in which mainly parents and children will stay. There are also sanitary and meeting rooms. The shelter will remain open until November 1, 2023.
One of the conditions for Nijmegen to realize one of the largest crisis reception locations in the Netherlands was to be more flexible with the rules for education of children. ‘Due to a shortage of staff and teaching accommodations, we cannot offer a full education program to people of compulsory school age in emergency shelters. The government recognizes this, which is why an emergency law is being prepared to provide more scope for suitable solutions. It has been promised that Nijmegen will be designated as a pilot municipality in advance,’ can be read in the council proposal.
Retired teachers and volunteers, among others, will take care of the educational offer to the asylum children. Bindkracht10 and the municipal sports company organize daytime activities.
Cloth remedy
The Dutch Council for Refugees says it is sad that refugees are once again coming to an emergency shelter. It’s a stopgap, not a permanent solution. Nevertheless, the organization is happy with the decision of the municipality. ‘Nijmegen again takes its responsibility when it comes down to it. The shortage of shelters is so great that every shelter makes a difference. We hope that more municipalities will follow this example.’
In response to the IGJ report, the Council for Refugees says it will soon enter into talks with State Secretary Van de Burg. They call on municipalities on Twitter to provide permanent reception locations as soon as possible. ‘There is no time to wait for the distribution law that is intended for this. So act now in the spirit of that law and put an end to this dangerous situation!’
Sustainable housing
Many municipalities are already working on this. Venray announced yesterday that it would not opt for crisis shelter, but for sustainable housing. The municipality wants to build additional temporary housing for 500 people. These are flexible homes that remain for 15 years for refugees, asylum seekers, status holders and urgent home seekers. The municipality is now investigating several locations, it is not yet known when the houses will be there.
‘We consciously choose to take control ourselves and not wait for an instruction or crisis measure,’ says alderman Martin Leenders. The current crisis reception locations are suitable for acute care for a few months. ‘We don’t want to drag these people back and forth from one temporary location to another, but give them a safe home for a longer period of time. Moreover, as a municipality we don’t want to be constantly surprised by a new crisis, but we want to have permanent beds available.’
Permanent reception locations
A regional reception center will open in Zwolle in April for a maximum of four years for 300 status holders and refugees who have a high chance of obtaining a residence status. Together with COA, the municipality is also looking for a regional location for the longer term, for a maximum of 600 status holders and promising asylum seekers.
The municipal council of Heerenveen is positive about the arrival of a permanent reception center for asylum seekers. She asks the city council to approve this. A final decision on the arrival of an azc in the municipality will be made around the summer. In Westland, the council wants to purchase a hotel for permanent accommodation. This is part of the Westlandse Flexroute, for the realization of flexible housing and refugee reception and integration.
Middelburg is looking for a location for an asylum seekers’ center where 330 people can be accommodated after 1 July 2025. The 9 municipalities in the Kennemerland region, including Beverwijk, Haarlem and Velsen, are also looking for more permanent locations for asylum reception.