If a writer has to close, more than the thrift stores disappear for vulnerable Hagenaren: ‘I do my cup every day’ here ‘

There are about two hundred people in the Atrium of the town hall of The Hague. They hold an A4 with the face of Jacobus Schroeder van der Kolk. A large tear hangs on his eye. He is crying, because the foundation named after this nineteenth-century doctor is bankrupt.

And that means that the eight thrift stores from Schroeder – which also act as a community center -, the Giveaway and the Social Workplace in the City must close their doors next week. That news cuts in. « Keep Schroeder, » says a volunteer. She sobs. « I can’t go anywhere else. » Most people with the A4s work at the foundation. But visitors have also come to the stores. An older man was just at the thrift store around the corner when he heard of this meeting. « I thought: that’s important boy, just walk on. »

Keep Schroeder. I can’t go anywhere else

Those present want to attend the council meeting of the municipality, at the beginning of the afternoon, where the bankruptcy is on the agenda. And the group offers the council a petition, which has been signed by 6,500 people. With the closure of Schroeder, almost three hundred people will soon be on the street: a hundred volunteers, one hundred people at the day care and ninety employees. Almost all people with a physical or psychological disability.

They will no longer be able to work, but also no longer sit down at the kitchen tables of the community centers for, for example, lunch. And the local residents can no longer do that. « I do my cup there every day, » says a man with few teeth. He is sitting at a table near the municipal council room. It is so busy that not all visitors can enter. He doesn’t. « I don’t give. I come here for the support. I have been coming to the stores for 38 years. »

Debt

The foundation has not been doing well for some time. She has coronaschilden at the tax authorities, the rents of the buildings rose, transport costs became higher, as well as wages, says operational manager Marcel Marskamp. « We also missed an important tender. And the municipal subsidy remained the same all the time. » Now the foundation has an annual shortage of 1.2 to 1.6 million euros.

The municipality recently announced in a council announcement that the foundation has been offering a safe place to many people from The Hague for more than a hundred years, and that the college is very regretted that a restart is not possible. The municipality writes that Schroeder did not want to give access to the books, so that she could not judge whether the financial situation was reliable enough for a restart. Moreover, the administrator set the condition that the municipality would guarantee costs that could rise above three tons. That was not an option because this would amount to unauthorized state aid.

Marskamp contradicts that lecture. « Together with the municipality we have made a plan for a restart. » Schroeder would dismiss 33 people and close one thrift store and the social workplace, he explains. « The finish was in sight. »

There appeared to be a kink in the cable. Schroeder consists of two foundations, says Marskamp. « And we would make a restart with one foundation. But suddenly the four subsidies could not be transferred from one foundation to another. That would cause legal problems. » And then there was the bankruptcy.

The municipality drops the Houdhard Foundation, says councilor Coen Bom van Hart voor The Hague. « The cycle has so much more to offer than just second -hand items. It is a place for lonely and vulnerable people who do not function elsewhere in society. » According to Bom, there is « little love and understanding » for the situation. This Thursday he hoped to ensure that the college is taking a closer look at the restart plan with a majority in the council. But according to think alderman Nur Icar, that station has passed. The lease contracts have been canceled. « And we will ensure that appropriate guidance comes to other work, for everyone. »

‘Life work’

A little further on, in the Torenstraat, is one of Schroeder’s thrift stores. Khaled Selim (66) has been working at the foundation for 29 years and has been a branch manager here for fourteen years. Thirty years ago he had a car accident and could no longer work. Via he ended up at the cycle. This is his « life’s work, his joy of life. » He would continue for another year until his retirement. « And then stay as a volunteer. »

Selim cannot contain it all. « I find it so pathetic for all people with a disability. New places are being searched for. But it is not this place, you understand? »

New places are being searched for. But it’s not this place, you understand?

He points to Marianne, a woman in a red shirt. « I accepted her fourteen years ago, » he says. « She was shy and talks difficult. But here she is happy, » he says. « Yes, Marianne? » Marianne nods. What does she do? « Sort books, toys and CDs. And she does very well. »

It’s busy. At the row for the cash register everyone talks about the bankruptcy. « I come and do a quick shopping, » says a woman in line. « I am very shocked, » says visitor Anneelen van de Giessen. She says she has been here for years. « I have electro hyper sensitivity, I can’t stand radiation and I am in the Sickness Benefits Act. » She recently bought the flip flops on her feet. « Nice, but 3 euros. Where will I find that later? »

To share

Mail the editors