Twice a week, Veldwerk Haaglanden takes a bus through The Hague. No large-scale distribution, but personal contact. The volunteers bring food, drinks, dry clothes, sleeping bags and shelter bags. They listen to stories that have often not been told for a long time.
But Veldwerk Haaglanden provides more than just practical help. The team is often the first step towards recovery. They help people to reconnect with the community or other agencies and, if possible, offer accommodation in combination with work. Sometimes it is still too early for such a step, and then they simply offer a break: a safe break to see what the next possibility might be. Volunteers also regularly go along to appointments because they know that things work differently when someone doesn't have to go alone. This personal contact alone makes all the difference. People who have been ignored for months are given a moment to just be human.
Many people living on the streets have not slept for days. A shelter bag is then not a luxury, but a lifesaver. Wind and waterproof, with a built-in mat and space to safely store your bag or shoes. A little piece of protection from the cold, which becomes more piercing with every passing hour.
A shelter bag not only provides warmth, but also something that is harder to measure: dignity.
During our tour, we meet Mattheus, a man of Polish origin. He has been living on the streets in the Netherlands for years. He suffers from addiction, but is always friendly, grateful and happy to see the volunteers from Veldwerk Haaglanden. They visit him every week - with food, dry clothes and sometimes just a chat. That evening we were able to present him with a shelter bag. His eyes lit up and he hugged our colleague from Sheltersuit tightly - a silent sign of how much this meant to him.
It's hard to remain unaffected by a moment like this. A single shelterbag can change someone's life - or at least give them the courage to carry on.
For many people without shelter, there is simply no room in the shelters. Without papers, they are often only allowed in when it freezes - when it is actually already too late. Until then, they sleep in wet tents or under bridges, exhausted, sick and sometimes without anything to eat. Alcohol or drugs then become a means of staying warm and surviving the night. But what they really need is protection, peace and a sign that someone is looking after them.
The temperatures are dropping, but the need is increasing. Every day, people like Mattheus sleep outside - without shelter, without warmth, without any prospect of improvement. Veldwerk Haaglanden continues to take to the streets, but they can't do it alone.
With your support, we can make more shelterbags together and distribute them to those who need them most.
Donate today so that fewer people in The Hague have to spend the night outdoors without shelter.
