Under the heading 'ACCESS', we share experiences from our daily practice. Only with access to livelihood security can people who are new to the Netherlands have prospects for the future.
Mold in the home
A man and a woman live with their 1-year-old child in an apartment. The home has mold due to constant leaks and moisture problems. It is also located on the third floor of an apartment building without an elevator. The man has severe back problems. The woman and child have developed respiratory problems due to the mold. We are jointly requesting urgent assistance.
Urgent question: one complaint "may" take center stage
The urgent care worker explains that an urgent care request can only focus on one complaint. Based on her own assessment, she has therefore decided to focus on the man's back pain. Only the man is then invited to see the doctor for an urgent care assessment. The urgent care request based on back pain is rejected.
One urgent request per person
The woman has therefore requested an appointment to discuss her respiratory problems. The emergency worker indicates that if urgency is granted on the basis of these complaints, they will not necessarily be offered a ground floor apartment. This is a necessity for the man. When allocating the home, only the reason for granting urgent housing is taken into account. And this is the health complaint of one person, because according to the employee, a separate urgent housing application would have to be submitted for each person.
Good living
It is clear that creating urgency in this housing market is difficult. But this cannot be allowed to continue insocial housing– worse still, the procedure stands in the way of good housing and good health. We are considering the next step. What are your thoughts?
