AARDIGE AMSTERDAMMER
Are we looking for you?
Greeted someone at the streetcar stop? Bought the street paper? Brought your neighbor something to eat? Typical gestures of an Aardige Amsterdammer. Whether they are small or large doesn't matter. But life is not nice for everyone. That's why we're looking for Aardige Amsterdammers in the form of buddies and donors.
WHY BECOME A BUDDY?
Because it has 300 vulnerable, lonely Amsterdammers waiting
.The demand for buddies is increasing. This is due to the rise in poverty and loneliness in the city. The value of a buddy? Here you'll find a nice, short conversation with a buddy duo. This is just an example, of course, because every buddy pair is different. You are matched on interests and always decide together what you do. Meeting at home or out and about? Indoors or outdoors? It's up to you.
Can and would you meet up once a week or two weeks with a lonely fellow townsman?
WHY DONATE FOR THE HOMELESS?
Because there are an estimated 17,000 in Amsterdam alone
.To be able to warm up somewhere inside without being judged, eat a healthy meal, take a shower, exchange your dirty clothes for clean ones and talk to people who really listen to you and want to help you. If you're homeless, you can visit De Regenboog Groep's ten drop-in centers (nine in Amsterdam and one in Zaandam).
.Here we receive about 5,000 unique visitors every year and we only see that number increasing. Therefore, we are currently facing a huge challenge in which we can use all the help we can get!
Read what some visitors say about the open house where they come
Rini
"I can't read and write myself. Here I get help to take care of everything."
[Rini sleeps at the Salvation Army]
.Ruslan
"I love this place because they keep me 'fat' here [wink wink], help me with basic services and bring me a little light."
Kalose
"This help is good. This is how I stay healthy. It gives me a lot of support."
Szymon
"Thanks to the Regenboog, I can get my life back on track. I now have a job and want to have a good life, for everyone around me."
[Szymon sleeps in our Night Shelter in Self-Help (NoiZ) at the drop-in center]
BE THERE FOR THOSE WHO NEED IT
For some, it is struggle. For others, just surviving. In Amsterdam, there are people who ease the plight of those who are struggling. In whatever way they can. That's what we call Aardige Amsterdammers.
Pretty Nice (Best Aardig)
"How was it?""Pretty Nice." Why do we sometimes belittle nice so much? While we speak highly of small luck and a thumbs up on our social media seems to be able to make our day, nice struggles with a nice image problem. Time to dig in and start reevaluating. Read this column about something lost, a date, a kindness and a hugging hormone.
PREFER TO DONATE CLOTHING, SHOES OR SLEEPING BAGS?
You can do that, too. Gladly even! We are always in need of men's clothes, men's shoes and sleeping bags. It's wet, inclement, cold and dark. And homeless people are forced to spend a lot of time outside. In a fair number of cases, they even sleep outside.
Bring quality, warm men's clothing, men's shoes and sleeping bags to our drop-in centers. Think: coats, gloves, scarves, hats, (jeans) pants and sweaters. But also: T-shirts, boxer shorts and socks.
walk-in centres Amsterdam
- AMOC: Stadhouderskade 159
- AMOC-West: Transformatorweg 6
- Blaka Watra: Droogbak 1-C
- De Kloof: Kloveniersburgwal 95
- Makom: Van Ostadestraat 153
- Oud-West: Bilderdijkstraat 182
- Princehof: Oudezijds Voorburgwal 165
- De Spreekbuis: Tweede Oosterparkstraat 72
- Zeeburg: Zeeburgerdijk 53
walk-in centres Zaandam
- Villa Westerweide: Provincialeweg 220
Look here for opening hours.