In the Netherlands, Ukrainian refugees are being turned away from shelters due to overcrowding

Municipal reception centers for Ukrainian refugees are overcrowded. The Association of Netherlands Municipalities sent a letter of concern to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, aldermen of the four largest cities in the country appealed to the Ministry of Asylum and Migration for support, and the Council of the Netherlands is sounding the alarm. This is reported by UNN with reference to Nos.Nl

This week in Amsterdam, we had to turn away dozens of homeless people, as we did last week. Referrals to shelters in other cities are impossible, because there are now fewer than 35 beds across the country, and occupancy is 99.8 percent. We have reached the sad point where we can no longer accept refugees from Ukraine in the Netherlands, and we are abandoning the Ukrainian people"

A total of 120,820 Ukrainians are registered in the Netherlands. Of these, 93,770 are in municipal shelters. The total number of places in shelters across the country is 93,970, which indicates almost 100% occupancy.

The Association of Netherlands Municipalities (VNG) expects that more Ukrainians will come to the Netherlands due to the "uncertain geopolitical situation." At the same time, the support of municipalities by the Cabinet of Ministers was insufficient. In particular, the association criticized the compensation for housing that municipalities receive for a place in a shelter. In their opinion, it is too low.

At the beginning of this year, it (the compensation - ed.) was reduced from 61 to 44 euros per day. This makes the creation of new shelters for small municipalities practically impossible without their own investments. The actual costs for a shelter place are between 55 and 60 euros per day, the four major cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague) write in their letter.

Alternatives to shelters

The Netherlands Red Cross notes that refugees from Ukraine are increasingly turning to the organization for help. In December and January, more than 200 Ukrainians applied for shelter assistance. In February, there were more than 400.

"Of these, eighteen people indicated that they had spent at least one night on the street," said spokeswoman Danielle Brauer. "This is also a real increase compared to previous months."

The Red Cross can offer people in very vulnerable situations accommodation in a hotel for up to three nights. But this is, of course, not a solution

There are 24 "current beds" in Amsterdam for refugees who have just arrived in the country. They can use them while waiting for a place in a shelter in another municipality. All beds have been occupied since March 4, and according to the municipality, it is unlikely that they will be vacated anytime soon.

We are looking at what we can do for the most vulnerable, but we often see no other option than to turn away people who have reported that they have to organize their own shelter

Let us remind

Earlier, UNN wrote that more than 35,000 Ukrainians received refugee status in Turkey