Having received national headlines for their initiative, the Schimmelpenninck Huys in Groningen will stop sheltering the city’s homeless to receive ‘regular’ guests again
Homeless people that had been housed in the ‘Schimmelpenninck huys’ hotel on the Oosterstraat in Groningen will no longer be able to stay after the end of this month. As reported by the GIC, alternative accommodation has been found at both the ‘Het Kopland’ night-shelter, and at other hotels around the city.
Having homeless people housed at the Hotel Schimmelpenninck was a temporary measure, and the €90 per night hotel will again receive ‘regular guests’ from the end of this month.
From June 21 to September 1, homeless people will get their own room in the Night Shelter, or in a hotel in Groningen.
The Night Shelter of ‘Het Kopland’ in Groningen normally has room for a maximum of 30 people, divided into several common sleeping areas: where it is not possible to enforce the 1.5-meter distance measures suggested by the RIVM.
As of 21 June, the users of the Night Shelter will be taken care of at various locations: in the location of the Night Shelter itself, where they will have their own room, and in a number of hotels in Groningen that make rooms available for people who need shelter.
“It is great that special collaborations have been started that contribute to a solution, perhaps partly because of the good experiences we have as a hotel. These are guests I will never forget ”, says Sanne Luijten, manager Hotel Schimmelpenninck Huys.
Ironically, the Coronavirus outbreak has shown that homelessness doesn’t need to be a constant within our society, with hotels and empty apartments across Europe used to house the most vulnerable people.
Image via Wikimedia user Effeietsanders. License here.
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