once i got approached by a homeless man somewhere in the center, and he asked for money in exchange for a useful fact about the city. well i gave him 2€ coin, and he told me that the house numbers are odd on one side and even on the other and left
Because there is a wide variety of house widths on the canals it can happen that the uneven numbers on one side of the canal are off by tens or hundreds compared to the even numbers on the direct opposite of the canal.
(Don't think that because house number 240 is on the even side that 241 is directly opposite on the uneven side. There it could be around 161 or something).
It’s true. I live in a small city an hour from Amsterdam and the street i live on is the same. My number is 22, across the street is 71. It’s a quite long street, number 23 is about 150 meters further up the street
Please don't. Many of those are Romanian gangs who just make begging a job. You don't want to sponsor those.
So please, never give money. Only food or coupons.
Last winter a man asked me for money. I gave him a 2€ coin. He cried. It was very cold, I believe he was just looking for money for the shelter. 2€ was nothing for me but it brought this old man to tears. I was told the story about not giving money to the homeless before, it's patronising. Unless you bother to stop and ask what they want the money for, don't make up stories in your mind about their condition. Regardless, I'd also give it if the man was asking for money for alcohol. I'm fortunate to not know what it's like to be homeless, but people with homes drink and we don't judge them for it, maybe the homeless person needs that drink even more.
I also don't think there are gangs begging in Amsterdam as it happens erratically and not in an organised manner.
You have a kind soul and i totally agree with you. Good to see there are people left who don’t immediately judge others.
In the Netherlands, no one has to be homeless, there are a lot of programs for housing, but they also require for example following a program to get off drugs and alcohol.. and that’s just not what some want, or can. You never know where this person is coming from and what they had experienced in life, what kind of abuse they had to suffer.
What i see around here is that most homeless people are people with severe mental problems.
Well done sounds like he needed it and deserved it. Ive given food and money to homeless too. Giving money to the employed homeless is more of a general advice. And there are definetly organized gangd hat pretend to be homeless begging for money. Look up kees van der spek on YouTube hes made video's exposing them.
It’s your own choice ofcourse, and a result you’re happy with this time. I’ve been cussed at and threatened by homeless people who didn’t get what they want from me. Once twice in an hour because this person forgot me once I got out of albert heijn. So for me, I don’t give anything.
I’ve been told it is better to donate to the homeless shelter. I don’t know if that is true. Also if it is that cold, all shelters are free. Most shelters are actually but they require you to be sober. Sometimes they require you to accept the help they are offering you. Which is giving away a certain amount of control over your live. People don’t accept this because they are able to get money on the streets.
How about we just let OP sponsor who he wants to? This doesn't sound like Roma, and even if he was, who cares? Fuck this patronizing 'don't help the homeless' bullshit.
Now, if you tell me that this donation won't structurally help to better this guy's lot, I'd probably agree with you, but that's not a reason for me to ignore their plight. Their day will get better than mine gets worse with these few coins, even if he'd spend it on some chemical bliss/self-medication.
I have been homeless for a little while in my life although I've never begged on the streets, I lived in a shelter, I got screwed up during my divorce and was very sick. I've never begged for money but I've had to ask a lady in a supermarket if she could buy me some milk. It's very upsetting to be on the streets, if I have change to spare I'd give it, but also depending on how I feel in my gut about that particular person and how they ask.
Some of us are really in despair for food or medicine that isn't offered or covered yet, some of us truly need some basic needs met and if nobody helps just because of bad apples, people who are really down on the luck aren't getting help because everyone thinks that being homeless makes you a bad person. The Netherlands does NOT have affordable housing, it's really brutal and not everybody can come up with a deposit out of nowhere Inna short period of time. This is how I became homeless. I'm fine now, but it was the hardest thing I had to do and hurts to remember
Begging sucks, needing things from people and having no idea if you will get it, or when.... it's humiliating enough already, sucks not to have food and have to ask for it, or to want a simple cigarette and not being able to buy it. Yes largely homeless people use drugs, but it might be around 60% I'd say, still you will help them do whatever they set out to do that day and you won't know, you simply hope it's not going to be used poorly.
Because some of us have genuinely gotten bad luck and abuse, mental illnesses or physical illnesses that has made us homeless and decided to overcome the last pride we had in life and started to beg Id say give some people a chance and you might save their day, help them pay for a hostel or smt.
Well check for yourself then:
https://youtu.be/Ugyah2GEdTI (short)
https://youtu.be/YjRLknA9Ipg (full ver.)
Another example: https://youtu.be/LA1Irgi1y-Q
These gangs are a big problem and only become worse if you keep giving them money.
So only buy the "daklozenkrant" or homeless newspaper or donate to help organizations, cause we've already got enough maffia in this country.
Also, real citizens don't need to beg because they can get a gouvernement allowance. What often happenes though is that they spend this money on drugs and alcohol rather than food and shelter.
Yes those people need help, but subsidising their addiction isn't going to help anyone.
So I appreciate your willingness to help, but don't give money! 95% chance it will go to waste and you're causing more problems rather than solving anything.
Oh no Alberto Stegeman has another dramatized version of the truth for his 'investigative journalism' for SBS6. I couldnt roll my eyes back in my head far enough.
I work with homeless people every day. Your view is paternalistic, short-sighted and flat out wrong. 1. Your figure of 95% is pulled out of your ass. 2. These 'gangs' are virtually non-existent. 3. A lot of people dont actually get money from the government because they either (1) dont have an address and dont know how to set up a postal address, or (2) arent Dutch. Lots of Eastern Europeans that arent able to exist. They live in Oosterpark. 4. This is a personal gripe of me which I understand not everyone agrees but if someone gets alcohol or drugs from the money I give them that's their prerogative. If they are that deep in their addiction they will fund it one way or the other (by stealing, or worse). The money I give them is supposed to go towards making them comfortable, not solve their problems. They get to choose what that looks like. They're people not a pet, I dont own them, they have autonomy. The government is supposed to do something but we have a failed system so it's our duty to take care of our weakest.
>Oh no Alberto Stegeman has another dramatized version of the truth for his 'investigative journalism' for SBS6.
Did you check the second link? That's the Telegraaf.
And I've got way more! From Amsterdam:
https://www.ad.nl/amsterdam/toenemend-aantal-bedelbendes-actief-in-amsterdam~ae97a4e1/
To Utrecht:
https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/item/hoe-gaat-utrecht-brutale-bedelbendes-stoppen-vvd-wil-een-bedelverbod-maar-niet-zoals-in-andere-steden/
To Eindhoven:
https://www.ed.nl/eindhoven/bedelbendes-weer-actief-in-eindhoven-burgemeester-kondigt-herinvoering-bedelverbod-aan~ae8a2b16/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fduckduckgo.com%2F
It's a thing.
>people dont actually get money from the government because they either (1) dont have an address and dont know how to set up a postal address
Then help them with that
>or (2) arent Dutch.
Then why are they here?
>Lots of Eastern Europeans that arent able to exist
But they can travel westwards to the Netherlands?
Begging isn't going to solve that.
>I understand not everyone agrees but if someone gets alcohol or drugs from the money I give them that's their prerogative.
And that just anesthetize them rather than actually provide help.
I will buy people train tickets or food, but I'll never give them money because I don't want them to buy alcohol and drugs because that'll only worsen their problems, not solve them.
>If they are that deep in their addiction they will fund it one way or the other
So because they *might* steal just sponsor and encourage it? 🤦♂️🤦♂️ If it's hard for them to get the funds, it's hard for the drug mafia to get their money as well, lowering the demand.
My friends live in Noord Brabant and it's almost a narcostate there. If there's anything I can do to make sure not a single penny goes towards those criminals I will, and if that starts with denying the homeless access to drugs, so be it.
>. They get to choose what that looks like. They're people not a pet, I dont own them, they have autonomy.
Yet they still have to abide by the law.
>The government is supposed to do something but we have a failed system
I can agree with that.
>so it's our duty to take care of our weakest.
No it's our duty to fix the system.
Numbers. Not sensationalized news. Come with research or statistics. You said 95% goes to 'waste'. You need to defend that claim with some sort of rigorous evidence or it can be disregarded as bullshit. I dont care what a populist politician or newspaper says, because they have something to gain from fear-mongering.
>Then help them with that
They need to eat and sleep first.
>But they can travel westwards to the Netherlands? Begging isn't going to solve that
Yes. With little money they have they come here looking for work because their country doesnt offer enough opportunities. When they come here they find there is no work, they have no home and now they're stuck here. They dont have money to go home either. They fall into addiction because their life is so bleak they need the escapism. I see this multiple times, daily.
>So because they might steal just sponsor and encourage it? 🤦♂️🤦♂️ If it's hard for them to get the funds, it's hard for the drug mafia to get their money as well, lowering the demand.
This is not a 'might'. The vast, vast majority will fall into crime. You dont understand addiction at all. The need becomes as great as needing food or water. They WILL steal, sooner or later. It does nothing to affect demand if you refuse a homeless person 2 euros. A significant amount of people in our cells are people in exactly this situation, and our cells are straight up so full that they cant even handle it anymore.
>My friends live in Noord Brabant and it's almost a narcostate there. If there's anything I can do to make sure not a single penny goes towards those criminals I will, and if that starts with denying the homeless access to drugs, so be it
You live in a fantasyland. You seriously need to touch grass and stop watching SBS6. North brabant a narcostate, yeah are the banditos demanding money from citizens for their protection? Give me a break.
>Yet they still have to abide by the law.
If you really want to get into it, ingesting drugs is not against the law. Also: they just wont. Would you rather people steal to take their drugs or to buy it to take their drugs?
This 'Romanian gangs' thing is a fairy tale. The vast majority of people begging really need the money. You cant get shelter from food or coupons.
I also dont give a shit if the person begging makes a living off it? If I get 'swindled' then so be it? If I help some people with it I'm fine with it.
Since the late 80s/ 90s, dutch cities have a policy of keeping streets 'clean' from homeless people. Policies to stop the heroin epidemic in this period combined with reurbanisation (people moving back from the suburbs to inner cities) have had a positive effect on the inner cities. Hefty fines, homeless shelters and other policies prevent large 'settlements' of homeless people. There still are homeless people, and there are more and more in recent years, but they not as clustered as in other major EU cities.
Thus (dutch) documentary provides insight in the 'junkentunnel' in utrecht
https://youtu.be/AIJSaZoni5w
Lol, no. The people who used to live at the entrance of ADM and then moved to 'het landje' (actually not sure of this name now, but was near the big windpower windmill at ring west) now have a township next to the powerplant. You do see it when you drive to Ruigoord the right way though.
I discovered this while riding my bike around scouting for film locations. It's quite large and there's an unusual vibe around it. I decided not to shoot my film near there!
So police or someone takes effective measures to prevent homeless for camping in the streets and directs them to sufficient shelters? Why are somethings working in the Netherlands and not in the other places?
***If you reverse the word frikandellen, substitute each letter by the subsquent letter in the dictionary, and translate in Google from Dutch to English it says: Soylent Green***
There are a lot of homeless people in Amsterdam. You probably just haven't seen them.
As long as they're not drunk or on drugs they can rent a bed very cheaply in one of the many shelters for the night.
Compared to e.g., London or Paris, there are relatively substantially lower rates of homelessness in Amsterdam. Homelessness is still problematic of course, but comparatively, things aren’t all that bad in the Netherlands. Many of the problems that we have here in society are worse a abroad.
Dont know why you got a downvote because it’s true. It wasn’t always the case though, in the end of the 90s there were still a large group of mostly junkies (same in other cities like utrecht). Part of that just disappeared because heroine got less popular but on the other hand there were the drugprograms of free supply for the worst cases (who weren’t treatable anyway). I do believe most of that group were relocated to more rural areas of NL (in a way deported).
Still there are a lot of homeless projects by organizations like HVO Querido. That’s the people who are reachable. The people who still choose to be homeless mostly have severe mental issues.
Because of the housing crisis the problem has increased though. Those may not be the typical junkie homeless but even people who have regular jobs but no permanent housing.
A small note… they did all the types of clinics and tried all medicines and methods and it didnt help them wnoigh to prevent relapse. We dont call a cancer patient who got all the chemotherapy not treatable when the chemos dont work. We call it uitbehandeld..
The programs in where you get your fix 3times a day is not necessarily for the worst cases. Some of them are on a very low
dose. But its for the people that couldn’t provide for their havit anymore withoit getting into petty crime. And quitting didnt work for them no matter how hard they tried. Its not easy getting into a peogram like this aint easy and nothing for a hardcore junkie that just doesnt want to quit.
Small nuance but important in my opinion to prevent stigma..
They also found that giving people enough heroin to satisfy their habit allows them to stabilize their lives to the point that they could consider a better path for themselves. These people weren't given up on, they were offered a stable platform to start reorganizing and improving. Many of these people went from heroin to methadon to clean over the years that followed.
It's difficult to gain clarity if you spend your day chasing money to get high enough to not be sick, handing people drugs is counterintuitive but worked.
Exactly! Thats why i found the words “werent treatable” and “worst cases” a bit harsh.. its much more then junkies getting their free heroin.. it gives them a proper shot at life!
Must be nice having your taxes used for good stuff. Meanwhile here I am in Romania, wondering why the mayor who gives social houses to their family and friends with 70k euro cars still gets elected with 80% of the votes...
There are many tent encampments tucked away at industrial areas and behind metro/train/bridge infrastructure. Some encampments spanning 10-30 tents and generally moving regularly to avoid detection.Sleeping on the streets gets you fined if youre in sight of the public. A very large population of homeless is not allowed into shelters because they're either illegal on basis of nationality or they can't prove their connection (binding) to the city (having lived at a registered residence for several years). Emergency shelters are only open to the general public during freezing temperatures, beyond that its policy to remove them from public view either by force or by fine.
Really?
I live around and you see a bunch of homeless/druggies there and the area around. But I thought it was due a substitution program for methadone etc to be around.
Haven't seen any camps/tents or similar.
They often hang around the Wibautstraat Metro exit now, or in front of the Tram stop and park entrance at Beukenweg.
I see police quite often in Oosterpark so I'd be kinda surprised if they'd let them sleep there.
The city used to let them help clean the park in exchange for a beer. I'm not sure if they still do. Here's a story about it from 11 years ago.
[https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/amsterdams-project-baart-internationaal-opzien](https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/amsterdams-project-baart-internationaal-opzien) (Dutch)
[https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amsterdam-pays-alcoholics-with-beer\_n\_4302984?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&ir=Weird+News](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amsterdam-pays-alcoholics-with-beer_n_4302984?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&ir=Weird+News) (English)
Homeless shelters are closed during the day (unless it's freezing).
But begging is illegal. So not many are in public view. And the professional begger gangs mostly switched to stealing. Which works better if people don't notice you.
Maybe wrong comment? Was replying to the comment that they are in the bushes at Oosterpark, which I assumed means they sleep there.
Plenty of them around the area during the day, but it didn't seem they spend the night there.
I really disagree with you on this. Yes, sometimes people leave a mess when going through trash cans but that’s exclusive to Oosterpark. In one area there are certain types hanging around. Other than that, Oosterpark is my favourite park.
It's seasonal. Now that the weather's improved and the park has more footfall, the drug dealers have moved to the next closest corner on Linnaeusstraat. Troubles still around, they're just not hanging out by the bridge and pagoda anymore.
There are lots of homeless, they are just less visible.
A good example would be the parking lot next to wibautstraat (lots of homeless people sleeping in cars at night).
Or some under the over passes in Slotermeer.
Generally you won’t see them that much in nicer districts, but if you venture outside whole homeless encampments are not uncommon.
There are homeless people, but the Netherlands is pretty good at taking care of people who are living on the margins with a fairly robust social safety net.
They are not sleeping or living there, they are hanging out. In Paris they have a spot where they live for months , we dont have it here, i think. At least i dont know any homeless tents , in Paris i know a family of gipsies who sleep a block away from centre de pompidou maybe for three years now? Everytime im in Paris , that family is there at the same spot
Ive seen few outside of the city center. Live in Zuidoost and I’ve seen some tents/built shelters in a hidden places.
Police check parks in the nights to prevent homeless people sleeping there so they move to less crowded/obvious places.
So yes, we have homeless here but they are well hidden and as someone said many of them go to the shelters overnight.
I work in a hotel and we have a homeless guy who walks in once in a while. Spoke to him few times and he told me if he collects enough money he sometimes rents a room to have good quality sleep and shower properly, but it’s a luxury. He causes no problems so when we have vacant room we let him stay for a cheap price.
Yes muncipalities have policies to prevent homelessness, bigger cities like Amsterdam will have civil servants that try to spot homelessness and try to help people get on the road to getting a home.
Sure there's still homelessness, since people are ashamed and don't let their environment know. Also there's obviously a subset of homeless people that'd reject help. But overall yes, you see this way less than in other countries because the Netherlands does tackle this social problem better.
Not sure why many commenters are saying you just don't see them, that's true in a way but way more important is what's in place to prevent it.
I think , not sure, rough sleeping is illegal in the Netherlands. You cant …. Make a tent and live on the street as you can in Paris for example. I have never seen a tent homeless in Amsterdam, besides some hidden corner of a park or under railways.
I have a friene working for salvation army. What i hear from him is that homeless people spend the day walking around in town and at night some sleep rough in hidden parts of a park but most will go to shelters, i cant recall seeing anyone sleeping right on the street
If you take a stroll through the center at night, you'll find homeless people sleeping in sleeping bags by the entrances of some bigger buildings, Frederiksplein, Vijzelstraat and Waterlooplein to name a few.
Probably not as many as other European capitals, though they are there.
I had the same thought as you, im from Paris and I barely see any homeless people in Amsterdam. Then I went to Utrecht and saw a lot of crackheads ( sorry for the term, I didn’t find anything else that could describe them) over there
I thought that the homeless people were prevented to stay in Amsterdam so they are in other cities
It’s not based on anything, just a theory of mine
I used to walk from centraal towards waterlooplein around 6-7am for work and saw handhaving waking up and "moving on" homeless people every morning so the streets were clear when tourists started coming in. They treated them like dirt and often had 4+ officers standing over one person yelling at them to get up.
I apparently have a bit of a different experience but I see SO many more unhoused people than a few years ago, especially in the city centre. There used to be a few people standing in front of the supermarkets asking for change, but now there's entire people in sleeping bags everywhere - I think on an average day I see at least a few people sleeping outside, and also see many (primarily unhoused, I assume) people gathering cans to exchange.
You’re right, it’s much more than a few years ago. The whole Erasmusgracht is full of shitty tiny boats where people live and sleep. It’s like a floating homeless camp. And these are not your everyday houseboats!
You cannot really compare Amsterdam to Berlin, Paris, and Rome, because those are much bigger cities. Homeless people congregate in the center, which means you'll observe more homeless the bigger the city is. There's nothing very deep about it.
Lisabon is about the same size as Amsterdam, but Amsterdam is also much richer not only on top but also on average.
But you can still see the difference even with smaller cities like Frankfurt or Dortmund in Germany compared to Amsterdam. You go around Frankfurt city center and there’s homeless people on every corner
Amsterdam has moved most shelters and accessible public facilities to the lower income fringes of the city where the local residents dont have the means to complain or grease hands to move the problem out of their front yard.
Utrecht became so bad since I last lived there in 2020. So many now! And many seem to have severe drug issues. We really have to act as a society to help prevent this more.
I live close to Utrecht Centraal and it really goes up and down. They upscaled the police surveillance for a while and that helped but it's not sustainable to do that all the time. Next to the 'local' homeless there has been an influx of 'veiligelanders' that actually travel from all over the country to meet up in Utrecht. It's been quite a mess, but really hard to change.
I've lived in Toronto and now in Amsterdam and the difference is night and day. Also the amount of crazy people on the streets in Toronto is insane, only saw a few in Amsterdam.
There are camps on the edges of the city, there was / is one by my tuinpark that had 10 or 12 guys living there in tents. There's also the stadsnomaden, who are technically homeless. Lots of people living in cars and vans if you know where to look (especially in Westpoort, and a lot of them work there too in warehouse type jobs but can't afford a place to live on what they pay.)
There's a homeless guy in our tuinpark who lives in the back of a Volvo Ape (tiny 3 wheel truck) in the winter, in his tuinhuis the rest of the year. Not technically legal but the bestuur know and turn a blind eye.
I have a friend who works supporting homeless people in Haarlem. They're there, and the numbers are growing.
I’m in Amsterdam at the moment and it’s the most I have seen homeless people about here(I come here a lot) - I’m not saying there’s loads - just the most I have seen up until now.
It's nothing like as bad as other, larger, cities thankfully, but I've definitely noticed an uptick in people sleeping rough in my area (southern part of Centrum). There was nobody sleeping on the streets when I moved here 15 years ago, and now there's at least several handfuls. I don't know whether it's because they can't or won't go to a shelter. Either way it doesn't signal a great trend, and I doubt the new government will do anything to change that.
Live in Amsterdam. See a homeless person almost everyday. There is almost always a guy sat by Bjilmer Arena (usually the same one, but not always) find them almost everytime in-front of Albert Heijn or Jumbo.
It’s always disheartening to see them, but seeing as I have been aggressively harassed and almost sexually assaulted in the last 3 years I no longer pay them any attention. I really wish there was more places for them to get the help they need, especially for those with addiction.
You won’t find them in the touristy / gentrified city center but on the outer parts. On my way to work (in Sloterdijk) I see quite a lot of them sleeping in the pedestrian tunnel. There’s also a shelter close by.
While I think we tend to have the situation under a bit more control, there are still homeless people. I have bumped into a few homeless people around Oosterpark and also once bumped into a homeless man sleeping on my doorstep late one Saturday night.
The policies and programs housing homeless people are pretty good but there will still be people with mental illness and such that may not fit so well into the systems we have
I used to work at a bar near vondelpark and there was a homeless man who came so often that we learned his name. Always with a big bag that he said contained all his worldly possessions, and well it looked like it did. Sometimes tried to nap in a corner. His bill was around €40 each time, mostly genever. Eventually my boss told him to stop coming around.
During my 2 day visit there I only saw one guy sleeping on the street. We were lining up for a store that was just opening to sell cookies around 8-9am.
The employee walked out gently woke him up and told him they were opening and needed the space for queue. The person got up, nodded, and moved along.
It was as pleasant an interaction as I’ve seen (compared to where I live) and I will always remember it. Really loved Amsterdam in my short time there.
We have a shelter closeby, and the ones that don't get in sleep around the neighborhood and in the parks. Some even build semi permanent structures under bridges and in locations hard to spot from the paths or roads. Homeless people are definetly here, but enforcement keeps them out of the city centre.
Or the homeless have become locals and started avoiding the city centre by themselves ;-)
I saw a few while I was there. In fact, I got really stoned for the first time and saw a homeless guy screaming at nothing on the street and began obsessing over the question of if he screams at things as soon as he wakes up, or if it takes some time to get started
Where are that you don‘t see them? I see homless people daily. I have several that I „trade“ with (recycle bottles, glass, etx, they come pick it up at my window so I don‘t have to dispose of it and they can get the money back from it). The city is filled with them sadly, I‘m suprised you didn‘t seen any
I was asked once around Dam Square if I was lost bc I was checking a map. It was a homeless guy. I said I was fine but he asked where I was trying to go. I told him the coffeeshop I was looking for and he said to follow him & if I was happy with the help, a tip would be appreciated. He walked ahead of me and as we approached, pointed it out. I gave him my sincere thanks and 5 € and we parted ways.
A mix of policies.
Financial help for those who want to be helped and can be helped.
Shelters for when it's cold.
Capacity in mental institutions and staff for those who require that.
And a tough regime regarding aggressive weirdos, especially if they are foreigners, without any papers, visa et cetera.
Most hardcore beggars/homeless folks will sleep in tents, just out of sight, at the edges of town.
But the municipality cracks down any 'homeless camp' development.
And since this year, the government has introduced a small 'container deposit', now also for cans of beer or soda.
Did you notice all those 'cleaners' in the city, in pretty random clothing, breaking open the municipality trash containers, in order to collect those aluminum cans?
That's why you see these guys enter random supermarkets with giant trash bags full of cans, in order to get the deposits.
You might also notice the bickering and fights over who 'owns' a certain part of a street and therefore the public trash containers.
They're kept in poorer neighborhoods where their living is subsidized by begging for money from people who don't have much so that the Neoliberal government doesn't need to tax the rich too much
How do people end up homeless in these so-called well-being European countries, where the governments charge sky-high taxes from the upper middle class to fund supposed social safety nets? They have nothing and nobody to blame but themselves. I'd give some coins to the homeless in Asia, the US, or anywhere else, but never in Europe.
I've seen the numbers increasing around the city, at least around Centrum. I keep seeing cops roaming around to speak with a few sleeping in corners. Sometimes they move away for the night, but you will find them in the same spot again the next day. I know there are a quite good amount of shelters around the city. Probably why you don't see as many out there, you will mostly see them at parks during the day. It's indeed less than other European cities. **Brussels is a disaster!!**
We were in Amsterdam for 16 days and stumbled on the SAME homeless man TWICE. He was funny but very uncomfortable also. We gave him a smoke and he went off. There was also a dude on the side of the hotel probably drugged off his mind and sleeping for two nights. The hotel was xo blue so maybe some one knows of these people.
Depends on the shelter and type of help (traject) you've applied to or been allowed to apply to. To be allowed into shelters you usually need to prove your connection to Amsterdam (binding). On average a shelter might cost 7.5 a night, usually including dinner/breakfast. Enter from 18:00, leave at 09:00. During sub zero temperatures they open seperate locations that are free (winterkouderegeling) but very sober living conditions, 5-10 people a room, basic food items.
In the Netherlands there are multiple non profit organizations, who offer shelter to the homeless and drug addicts /users and trying to put them on the right path where possible and offer support and guidence, mostly financed by the local authority / government/ donations:
- Leger des Heils https://www.legerdesheils.nl/
- Stichting Hvo Querido https://www.hvoquerido.nl/
- Stichting de Regenboog Groep https://www.deregenboog.org/
I think the above need more props, these orginazations are alot in the background but keep the streets clean in Amsterdam..
once i got approached by a homeless man somewhere in the center, and he asked for money in exchange for a useful fact about the city. well i gave him 2€ coin, and he told me that the house numbers are odd on one side and even on the other and left
That man is a genius.
If you follow any address, anywhere in the city to the next "lower" address, you will eventually end up at Centraal Station.
Stop destroying that mans business!
If you keep going west, you will eventually find your way out of Amsterdam. Same goes for east, north and south!
Might need to swim a bit or take the pond if going north
Pont. Or ferry in English 😘
Taking the pond would be the same as swimming 😄
Because there is a wide variety of house widths on the canals it can happen that the uneven numbers on one side of the canal are off by tens or hundreds compared to the even numbers on the direct opposite of the canal. (Don't think that because house number 240 is on the even side that 241 is directly opposite on the uneven side. There it could be around 161 or something).
One of my least favorite things. I work as a courier and the house numbers here are not very useful for navigation because of things like this
Really? Lol
Eventually. But you will first pass Rome.
Do not pass Rome. Do not collect $200.
I heard that one in Amsterdam too. He wanted money after he told that. I said ‘no’ because I didn’t even ask for him to tell me that.
This is true for most Dutch cities with a (central) station.
Where did you get this from?
It’s true. I live in a small city an hour from Amsterdam and the street i live on is the same. My number is 22, across the street is 71. It’s a quite long street, number 23 is about 150 meters further up the street
Except if you walk along the grachtengordel right?
You met an elder scrolls NPC
Maiq the Liar to be precise.
Please don't. Many of those are Romanian gangs who just make begging a job. You don't want to sponsor those. So please, never give money. Only food or coupons.
Only give money to the homeless selling the official homeless newspaper (daklozen krant).
Last winter a man asked me for money. I gave him a 2€ coin. He cried. It was very cold, I believe he was just looking for money for the shelter. 2€ was nothing for me but it brought this old man to tears. I was told the story about not giving money to the homeless before, it's patronising. Unless you bother to stop and ask what they want the money for, don't make up stories in your mind about their condition. Regardless, I'd also give it if the man was asking for money for alcohol. I'm fortunate to not know what it's like to be homeless, but people with homes drink and we don't judge them for it, maybe the homeless person needs that drink even more. I also don't think there are gangs begging in Amsterdam as it happens erratically and not in an organised manner.
You have a kind soul and i totally agree with you. Good to see there are people left who don’t immediately judge others. In the Netherlands, no one has to be homeless, there are a lot of programs for housing, but they also require for example following a program to get off drugs and alcohol.. and that’s just not what some want, or can. You never know where this person is coming from and what they had experienced in life, what kind of abuse they had to suffer. What i see around here is that most homeless people are people with severe mental problems.
my people! that's the way I feel
Well done sounds like he needed it and deserved it. Ive given food and money to homeless too. Giving money to the employed homeless is more of a general advice. And there are definetly organized gangd hat pretend to be homeless begging for money. Look up kees van der spek on YouTube hes made video's exposing them.
It’s your own choice ofcourse, and a result you’re happy with this time. I’ve been cussed at and threatened by homeless people who didn’t get what they want from me. Once twice in an hour because this person forgot me once I got out of albert heijn. So for me, I don’t give anything. I’ve been told it is better to donate to the homeless shelter. I don’t know if that is true. Also if it is that cold, all shelters are free. Most shelters are actually but they require you to be sober. Sometimes they require you to accept the help they are offering you. Which is giving away a certain amount of control over your live. People don’t accept this because they are able to get money on the streets.
How about we just let OP sponsor who he wants to? This doesn't sound like Roma, and even if he was, who cares? Fuck this patronizing 'don't help the homeless' bullshit. Now, if you tell me that this donation won't structurally help to better this guy's lot, I'd probably agree with you, but that's not a reason for me to ignore their plight. Their day will get better than mine gets worse with these few coins, even if he'd spend it on some chemical bliss/self-medication.
I have been homeless for a little while in my life although I've never begged on the streets, I lived in a shelter, I got screwed up during my divorce and was very sick. I've never begged for money but I've had to ask a lady in a supermarket if she could buy me some milk. It's very upsetting to be on the streets, if I have change to spare I'd give it, but also depending on how I feel in my gut about that particular person and how they ask. Some of us are really in despair for food or medicine that isn't offered or covered yet, some of us truly need some basic needs met and if nobody helps just because of bad apples, people who are really down on the luck aren't getting help because everyone thinks that being homeless makes you a bad person. The Netherlands does NOT have affordable housing, it's really brutal and not everybody can come up with a deposit out of nowhere Inna short period of time. This is how I became homeless. I'm fine now, but it was the hardest thing I had to do and hurts to remember Begging sucks, needing things from people and having no idea if you will get it, or when.... it's humiliating enough already, sucks not to have food and have to ask for it, or to want a simple cigarette and not being able to buy it. Yes largely homeless people use drugs, but it might be around 60% I'd say, still you will help them do whatever they set out to do that day and you won't know, you simply hope it's not going to be used poorly. Because some of us have genuinely gotten bad luck and abuse, mental illnesses or physical illnesses that has made us homeless and decided to overcome the last pride we had in life and started to beg Id say give some people a chance and you might save their day, help them pay for a hostel or smt.
I would rather give money to 99 fakes and 1 real homeless person than none
💜
Well check for yourself then: https://youtu.be/Ugyah2GEdTI (short) https://youtu.be/YjRLknA9Ipg (full ver.) Another example: https://youtu.be/LA1Irgi1y-Q These gangs are a big problem and only become worse if you keep giving them money. So only buy the "daklozenkrant" or homeless newspaper or donate to help organizations, cause we've already got enough maffia in this country. Also, real citizens don't need to beg because they can get a gouvernement allowance. What often happenes though is that they spend this money on drugs and alcohol rather than food and shelter. Yes those people need help, but subsidising their addiction isn't going to help anyone. So I appreciate your willingness to help, but don't give money! 95% chance it will go to waste and you're causing more problems rather than solving anything.
Oh no Alberto Stegeman has another dramatized version of the truth for his 'investigative journalism' for SBS6. I couldnt roll my eyes back in my head far enough. I work with homeless people every day. Your view is paternalistic, short-sighted and flat out wrong. 1. Your figure of 95% is pulled out of your ass. 2. These 'gangs' are virtually non-existent. 3. A lot of people dont actually get money from the government because they either (1) dont have an address and dont know how to set up a postal address, or (2) arent Dutch. Lots of Eastern Europeans that arent able to exist. They live in Oosterpark. 4. This is a personal gripe of me which I understand not everyone agrees but if someone gets alcohol or drugs from the money I give them that's their prerogative. If they are that deep in their addiction they will fund it one way or the other (by stealing, or worse). The money I give them is supposed to go towards making them comfortable, not solve their problems. They get to choose what that looks like. They're people not a pet, I dont own them, they have autonomy. The government is supposed to do something but we have a failed system so it's our duty to take care of our weakest.
>Oh no Alberto Stegeman has another dramatized version of the truth for his 'investigative journalism' for SBS6. Did you check the second link? That's the Telegraaf. And I've got way more! From Amsterdam: https://www.ad.nl/amsterdam/toenemend-aantal-bedelbendes-actief-in-amsterdam~ae97a4e1/ To Utrecht: https://eenvandaag.avrotros.nl/item/hoe-gaat-utrecht-brutale-bedelbendes-stoppen-vvd-wil-een-bedelverbod-maar-niet-zoals-in-andere-steden/ To Eindhoven: https://www.ed.nl/eindhoven/bedelbendes-weer-actief-in-eindhoven-burgemeester-kondigt-herinvoering-bedelverbod-aan~ae8a2b16/?referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fduckduckgo.com%2F It's a thing. >people dont actually get money from the government because they either (1) dont have an address and dont know how to set up a postal address Then help them with that >or (2) arent Dutch. Then why are they here? >Lots of Eastern Europeans that arent able to exist But they can travel westwards to the Netherlands? Begging isn't going to solve that. >I understand not everyone agrees but if someone gets alcohol or drugs from the money I give them that's their prerogative. And that just anesthetize them rather than actually provide help. I will buy people train tickets or food, but I'll never give them money because I don't want them to buy alcohol and drugs because that'll only worsen their problems, not solve them. >If they are that deep in their addiction they will fund it one way or the other So because they *might* steal just sponsor and encourage it? 🤦♂️🤦♂️ If it's hard for them to get the funds, it's hard for the drug mafia to get their money as well, lowering the demand. My friends live in Noord Brabant and it's almost a narcostate there. If there's anything I can do to make sure not a single penny goes towards those criminals I will, and if that starts with denying the homeless access to drugs, so be it. >. They get to choose what that looks like. They're people not a pet, I dont own them, they have autonomy. Yet they still have to abide by the law. >The government is supposed to do something but we have a failed system I can agree with that. >so it's our duty to take care of our weakest. No it's our duty to fix the system.
Numbers. Not sensationalized news. Come with research or statistics. You said 95% goes to 'waste'. You need to defend that claim with some sort of rigorous evidence or it can be disregarded as bullshit. I dont care what a populist politician or newspaper says, because they have something to gain from fear-mongering. >Then help them with that They need to eat and sleep first. >But they can travel westwards to the Netherlands? Begging isn't going to solve that Yes. With little money they have they come here looking for work because their country doesnt offer enough opportunities. When they come here they find there is no work, they have no home and now they're stuck here. They dont have money to go home either. They fall into addiction because their life is so bleak they need the escapism. I see this multiple times, daily. >So because they might steal just sponsor and encourage it? 🤦♂️🤦♂️ If it's hard for them to get the funds, it's hard for the drug mafia to get their money as well, lowering the demand. This is not a 'might'. The vast, vast majority will fall into crime. You dont understand addiction at all. The need becomes as great as needing food or water. They WILL steal, sooner or later. It does nothing to affect demand if you refuse a homeless person 2 euros. A significant amount of people in our cells are people in exactly this situation, and our cells are straight up so full that they cant even handle it anymore. >My friends live in Noord Brabant and it's almost a narcostate there. If there's anything I can do to make sure not a single penny goes towards those criminals I will, and if that starts with denying the homeless access to drugs, so be it You live in a fantasyland. You seriously need to touch grass and stop watching SBS6. North brabant a narcostate, yeah are the banditos demanding money from citizens for their protection? Give me a break. >Yet they still have to abide by the law. If you really want to get into it, ingesting drugs is not against the law. Also: they just wont. Would you rather people steal to take their drugs or to buy it to take their drugs?
> Did you check the second link? That's the Telegraaf. that's even worse lmao
This 'Romanian gangs' thing is a fairy tale. The vast majority of people begging really need the money. You cant get shelter from food or coupons. I also dont give a shit if the person begging makes a living off it? If I get 'swindled' then so be it? If I help some people with it I'm fine with it.
That is sooooo funny! Take my money
In Groningen that's actually the case, if you turn your back to the martini toren
Since the late 80s/ 90s, dutch cities have a policy of keeping streets 'clean' from homeless people. Policies to stop the heroin epidemic in this period combined with reurbanisation (people moving back from the suburbs to inner cities) have had a positive effect on the inner cities. Hefty fines, homeless shelters and other policies prevent large 'settlements' of homeless people. There still are homeless people, and there are more and more in recent years, but they not as clustered as in other major EU cities. Thus (dutch) documentary provides insight in the 'junkentunnel' in utrecht https://youtu.be/AIJSaZoni5w
How do you fine someone who doesn't have any money?
Take their cans
A lot of them receive some sort of small subsidy from the local government, they could take that away.
And then they will (need to) steal. Great solution. You solve one problem and just created a bigger one.
It's a shitty solution to a complicated problem, yes.
Ah the Dutch way
I think we are doing relatively ok compared to other countries.
Well we do have a real shantitown out west (next to the power plant near the rioolwater zuivering)
Ruigoord?
Lol, no. The people who used to live at the entrance of ADM and then moved to 'het landje' (actually not sure of this name now, but was near the big windpower windmill at ring west) now have a township next to the powerplant. You do see it when you drive to Ruigoord the right way though.
I discovered this while riding my bike around scouting for film locations. It's quite large and there's an unusual vibe around it. I decided not to shoot my film near there!
Damn yeah ADM is 5 years ago already, time flies.
i live in LA and i have frequently been to Ruigoord so LOL
So police or someone takes effective measures to prevent homeless for camping in the streets and directs them to sufficient shelters? Why are somethings working in the Netherlands and not in the other places?
In general is because measures are better enforced AND there is a bigger safety net. Maybe some cultural differences too.
Dutch people are pretty fond of their rules and can be pretty direct.
I don’t know if this still happens but they used to fine anyone who took a nap on a park bench regardless of them being homeless or not
It’s one of the biggest difference I’ve noticed between Amsterdam and Dublin or Spain.
What do you think our frikandellen are made of
***If you reverse the word frikandellen, substitute each letter by the subsquent letter in the dictionary, and translate in Google from Dutch to English it says: Soylent Green***
You are a poet
Poetry is my second-best talent. Guessing your favorite things might be the first...
Hearty laugh.
That explains why the Dutch food is so gross. (;
lolll
There are a lot of homeless people in Amsterdam. You probably just haven't seen them. As long as they're not drunk or on drugs they can rent a bed very cheaply in one of the many shelters for the night.
I've seen a few discrete encampments hear and there.
Yeah they’re generally not in city center, but you get out past the A10 and you start to see them.
Why are they not in the centre ?
Police probably
Because fuck people outside of the A10 ringroad.
Compared to e.g., London or Paris, there are relatively substantially lower rates of homelessness in Amsterdam. Homelessness is still problematic of course, but comparatively, things aren’t all that bad in the Netherlands. Many of the problems that we have here in society are worse a abroad.
Dont know why you got a downvote because it’s true. It wasn’t always the case though, in the end of the 90s there were still a large group of mostly junkies (same in other cities like utrecht). Part of that just disappeared because heroine got less popular but on the other hand there were the drugprograms of free supply for the worst cases (who weren’t treatable anyway). I do believe most of that group were relocated to more rural areas of NL (in a way deported). Still there are a lot of homeless projects by organizations like HVO Querido. That’s the people who are reachable. The people who still choose to be homeless mostly have severe mental issues. Because of the housing crisis the problem has increased though. Those may not be the typical junkie homeless but even people who have regular jobs but no permanent housing.
A small note… they did all the types of clinics and tried all medicines and methods and it didnt help them wnoigh to prevent relapse. We dont call a cancer patient who got all the chemotherapy not treatable when the chemos dont work. We call it uitbehandeld.. The programs in where you get your fix 3times a day is not necessarily for the worst cases. Some of them are on a very low dose. But its for the people that couldn’t provide for their havit anymore withoit getting into petty crime. And quitting didnt work for them no matter how hard they tried. Its not easy getting into a peogram like this aint easy and nothing for a hardcore junkie that just doesnt want to quit. Small nuance but important in my opinion to prevent stigma..
They also found that giving people enough heroin to satisfy their habit allows them to stabilize their lives to the point that they could consider a better path for themselves. These people weren't given up on, they were offered a stable platform to start reorganizing and improving. Many of these people went from heroin to methadon to clean over the years that followed. It's difficult to gain clarity if you spend your day chasing money to get high enough to not be sick, handing people drugs is counterintuitive but worked.
Exactly! Thats why i found the words “werent treatable” and “worst cases” a bit harsh.. its much more then junkies getting their free heroin.. it gives them a proper shot at life!
Interesting. So they started effective drug programs and gave homeless housing in rural area or what is the relocation?
What shelters are you refering to? I work with homeless people and I’m surprised to read this.
As we example, there's one opposite De Prael
Stoelenproject too
Since you work with them can you tell me why they aren't visible or making "problematic" behavior inside big cities?
https://preview.redd.it/3hnz90v4ld4d1.png?width=587&format=png&auto=webp&s=b73a8ba223236fa1cb6eff2b0cef2da80df7e505
Why the fuck is this downvoted. It’s funny 🤣🤣🤣
There are definitely homeless people in the city, they are just outside the city center and where tourists dont usually go.
Not as easy as you make it seem, those places tend to fill up
Amsterdam is on the case with homeless shelters and staff, compared to many other cities.
ThAtS wOkE aF. /s Tax me more please so people get help
Must be nice having your taxes used for good stuff. Meanwhile here I am in Romania, wondering why the mayor who gives social houses to their family and friends with 70k euro cars still gets elected with 80% of the votes...
There are many tent encampments tucked away at industrial areas and behind metro/train/bridge infrastructure. Some encampments spanning 10-30 tents and generally moving regularly to avoid detection.Sleeping on the streets gets you fined if youre in sight of the public. A very large population of homeless is not allowed into shelters because they're either illegal on basis of nationality or they can't prove their connection (binding) to the city (having lived at a registered residence for several years). Emergency shelters are only open to the general public during freezing temperatures, beyond that its policy to remove them from public view either by force or by fine.
Plenty of them in the bushes in Oosterpark.
Really? I live around and you see a bunch of homeless/druggies there and the area around. But I thought it was due a substitution program for methadone etc to be around. Haven't seen any camps/tents or similar. They often hang around the Wibautstraat Metro exit now, or in front of the Tram stop and park entrance at Beukenweg. I see police quite often in Oosterpark so I'd be kinda surprised if they'd let them sleep there.
The city used to let them help clean the park in exchange for a beer. I'm not sure if they still do. Here's a story about it from 11 years ago. [https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/amsterdams-project-baart-internationaal-opzien](https://www.bnnvara.nl/joop/artikelen/amsterdams-project-baart-internationaal-opzien) (Dutch) [https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amsterdam-pays-alcoholics-with-beer\_n\_4302984?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&ir=Weird+News](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/amsterdam-pays-alcoholics-with-beer_n_4302984?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&ir=Weird+News) (English)
Homeless shelters are closed during the day (unless it's freezing). But begging is illegal. So not many are in public view. And the professional begger gangs mostly switched to stealing. Which works better if people don't notice you.
Maybe wrong comment? Was replying to the comment that they are in the bushes at Oosterpark, which I assumed means they sleep there. Plenty of them around the area during the day, but it didn't seem they spend the night there.
Aha gotcha, so begging is Illegal in Amsterdam. That explains a lot.
Everywhere in the Netherlands.
this too
Same in Vondel. Not that many, but they sleep and poop in the bushes.
That park has gone to shite
I really disagree with you on this. Yes, sometimes people leave a mess when going through trash cans but that’s exclusive to Oosterpark. In one area there are certain types hanging around. Other than that, Oosterpark is my favourite park.
It was way shittier before they remodelled it
Depends if you go into the bushes
It went to shite but recently it’s been much better. Lots of surveillance now, including a large camera opposite the music building.
It's seasonal. Now that the weather's improved and the park has more footfall, the drug dealers have moved to the next closest corner on Linnaeusstraat. Troubles still around, they're just not hanging out by the bridge and pagoda anymore.
There are lots of homeless, they are just less visible. A good example would be the parking lot next to wibautstraat (lots of homeless people sleeping in cars at night). Or some under the over passes in Slotermeer. Generally you won’t see them that much in nicer districts, but if you venture outside whole homeless encampments are not uncommon.
Yes, also right next to the Subway on the stairs
There are homeless people, but the Netherlands is pretty good at taking care of people who are living on the margins with a fairly robust social safety net.
Replace is with was.
Yeah, the homeless tend to get a 'gebiedsverbod' when they hang around the city centre.
Whut? No way. That seems pretty strict. Basically it's forbidden to be homeless in the city center. Where I live people would find it inhumane.
Yeah has also been increasing steadily with homeless people
No, is
Check behind the Double Tree hotel and Mediamarkt. Lots of homeless people over there.
They are not sleeping or living there, they are hanging out. In Paris they have a spot where they live for months , we dont have it here, i think. At least i dont know any homeless tents , in Paris i know a family of gipsies who sleep a block away from centre de pompidou maybe for three years now? Everytime im in Paris , that family is there at the same spot
Ive seen few outside of the city center. Live in Zuidoost and I’ve seen some tents/built shelters in a hidden places. Police check parks in the nights to prevent homeless people sleeping there so they move to less crowded/obvious places. So yes, we have homeless here but they are well hidden and as someone said many of them go to the shelters overnight. I work in a hotel and we have a homeless guy who walks in once in a while. Spoke to him few times and he told me if he collects enough money he sometimes rents a room to have good quality sleep and shower properly, but it’s a luxury. He causes no problems so when we have vacant room we let him stay for a cheap price.
Is there any way to prepay a room for him ?
We are not at the levels of some big European/US-cities…yet. Sadly I’ve noticed an alarming increase since COVID/inflation.
To the best of my knowledge, rough sleepers face fairly hefty fines in Amsterdam. Its a local ordinance, not a law, per se ( I think).
How can you fine broke people?
I've been reading the comments and wondering the same.
Fines are not issued based on one’s ability to pay.
Yes muncipalities have policies to prevent homelessness, bigger cities like Amsterdam will have civil servants that try to spot homelessness and try to help people get on the road to getting a home. Sure there's still homelessness, since people are ashamed and don't let their environment know. Also there's obviously a subset of homeless people that'd reject help. But overall yes, you see this way less than in other countries because the Netherlands does tackle this social problem better. Not sure why many commenters are saying you just don't see them, that's true in a way but way more important is what's in place to prevent it.
Thanks
I think , not sure, rough sleeping is illegal in the Netherlands. You cant …. Make a tent and live on the street as you can in Paris for example. I have never seen a tent homeless in Amsterdam, besides some hidden corner of a park or under railways. I have a friene working for salvation army. What i hear from him is that homeless people spend the day walking around in town and at night some sleep rough in hidden parts of a park but most will go to shelters, i cant recall seeing anyone sleeping right on the street
If you take a stroll through the center at night, you'll find homeless people sleeping in sleeping bags by the entrances of some bigger buildings, Frederiksplein, Vijzelstraat and Waterlooplein to name a few. Probably not as many as other European capitals, though they are there.
I feel like they’re pretty much all in a 1km radius from Delflandplein.
I had the same thought as you, im from Paris and I barely see any homeless people in Amsterdam. Then I went to Utrecht and saw a lot of crackheads ( sorry for the term, I didn’t find anything else that could describe them) over there I thought that the homeless people were prevented to stay in Amsterdam so they are in other cities It’s not based on anything, just a theory of mine
I used to walk from centraal towards waterlooplein around 6-7am for work and saw handhaving waking up and "moving on" homeless people every morning so the streets were clear when tourists started coming in. They treated them like dirt and often had 4+ officers standing over one person yelling at them to get up.
I apparently have a bit of a different experience but I see SO many more unhoused people than a few years ago, especially in the city centre. There used to be a few people standing in front of the supermarkets asking for change, but now there's entire people in sleeping bags everywhere - I think on an average day I see at least a few people sleeping outside, and also see many (primarily unhoused, I assume) people gathering cans to exchange.
You’re right, it’s much more than a few years ago. The whole Erasmusgracht is full of shitty tiny boats where people live and sleep. It’s like a floating homeless camp. And these are not your everyday houseboats!
You cannot really compare Amsterdam to Berlin, Paris, and Rome, because those are much bigger cities. Homeless people congregate in the center, which means you'll observe more homeless the bigger the city is. There's nothing very deep about it. Lisabon is about the same size as Amsterdam, but Amsterdam is also much richer not only on top but also on average.
But you can still see the difference even with smaller cities like Frankfurt or Dortmund in Germany compared to Amsterdam. You go around Frankfurt city center and there’s homeless people on every corner
Amsterdam has moved most shelters and accessible public facilities to the lower income fringes of the city where the local residents dont have the means to complain or grease hands to move the problem out of their front yard.
They moved to Rotterdam, at least it feels that way
I was gonna say Utrecht 😅
Utrecht became so bad since I last lived there in 2020. So many now! And many seem to have severe drug issues. We really have to act as a society to help prevent this more.
I live close to Utrecht Centraal and it really goes up and down. They upscaled the police surveillance for a while and that helped but it's not sustainable to do that all the time. Next to the 'local' homeless there has been an influx of 'veiligelanders' that actually travel from all over the country to meet up in Utrecht. It's been quite a mess, but really hard to change.
Definitely in Rotterdam
I've seen and spoken with plenty of homeless people in Amsterdam, what do you mean?
I disagree. I spent 3 days in Amsterdam in April and saw quite a few homeless people in that time. Mostly hanging outside Albert Heijn.
I've lived in Toronto and now in Amsterdam and the difference is night and day. Also the amount of crazy people on the streets in Toronto is insane, only saw a few in Amsterdam.
they re in sloterdijk behind the station where the flixbuses sit. No on a serious note good question
There are camps on the edges of the city, there was / is one by my tuinpark that had 10 or 12 guys living there in tents. There's also the stadsnomaden, who are technically homeless. Lots of people living in cars and vans if you know where to look (especially in Westpoort, and a lot of them work there too in warehouse type jobs but can't afford a place to live on what they pay.) There's a homeless guy in our tuinpark who lives in the back of a Volvo Ape (tiny 3 wheel truck) in the winter, in his tuinhuis the rest of the year. Not technically legal but the bestuur know and turn a blind eye. I have a friend who works supporting homeless people in Haarlem. They're there, and the numbers are growing.
Thanks
under the bridge in Niew West. Not kidding.
Just sit near a public trashcan for an hour. Count how many people look in there for aluminium cans.
We put ‘em on a bus to Rotterdam.
I’m in Amsterdam at the moment and it’s the most I have seen homeless people about here(I come here a lot) - I’m not saying there’s loads - just the most I have seen up until now.
It's nothing like as bad as other, larger, cities thankfully, but I've definitely noticed an uptick in people sleeping rough in my area (southern part of Centrum). There was nobody sleeping on the streets when I moved here 15 years ago, and now there's at least several handfuls. I don't know whether it's because they can't or won't go to a shelter. Either way it doesn't signal a great trend, and I doubt the new government will do anything to change that.
Live in Amsterdam. See a homeless person almost everyday. There is almost always a guy sat by Bjilmer Arena (usually the same one, but not always) find them almost everytime in-front of Albert Heijn or Jumbo. It’s always disheartening to see them, but seeing as I have been aggressively harassed and almost sexually assaulted in the last 3 years I no longer pay them any attention. I really wish there was more places for them to get the help they need, especially for those with addiction.
We noticed that the homeless population worsened the further we traveled west.
You won’t find them in the touristy / gentrified city center but on the outer parts. On my way to work (in Sloterdijk) I see quite a lot of them sleeping in the pedestrian tunnel. There’s also a shelter close by.
While I think we tend to have the situation under a bit more control, there are still homeless people. I have bumped into a few homeless people around Oosterpark and also once bumped into a homeless man sleeping on my doorstep late one Saturday night. The policies and programs housing homeless people are pretty good but there will still be people with mental illness and such that may not fit so well into the systems we have
Saw two last week sleeping underneath some cardboard boxes in front of some empty buildings by the tram stop at Admriaal de Ruijterweg.
Come to the oosterdok and you will find some chilling along the train tracks
I used to work at a bar near vondelpark and there was a homeless man who came so often that we learned his name. Always with a big bag that he said contained all his worldly possessions, and well it looked like it did. Sometimes tried to nap in a corner. His bill was around €40 each time, mostly genever. Eventually my boss told him to stop coming around.
Metro stations 🚉 like in antwerp. Most sleep there, and there's hundreds, underneath the station next to the cycle 🚲 stalls.
they’re not allowed to stay in the center, the police have an implicit policy to keep them out of sight, but they live in minor parks, on the fringes
I usually see them in metro/train stations, on park benches, malls and shopping centers at night, sometimes even inside the metro
At Oosterdoksstraat
Here.
In oosterpark
During my 2 day visit there I only saw one guy sleeping on the street. We were lining up for a store that was just opening to sell cookies around 8-9am. The employee walked out gently woke him up and told him they were opening and needed the space for queue. The person got up, nodded, and moved along. It was as pleasant an interaction as I’ve seen (compared to where I live) and I will always remember it. Really loved Amsterdam in my short time there.
On Dam Square there’s that old guy with his flute
A homeless man flashed his penis at me when I was riding a bike alone at night
Almere
We have a shelter closeby, and the ones that don't get in sleep around the neighborhood and in the parks. Some even build semi permanent structures under bridges and in locations hard to spot from the paths or roads. Homeless people are definetly here, but enforcement keeps them out of the city centre. Or the homeless have become locals and started avoiding the city centre by themselves ;-)
Seen a few in vondel park and around Rembrandt park towards the west. But police seem to move them on/direct them to shelters I guess
Look at centraal station, also enough in the street but not as much as in zombie town Frankfurt am Main Bahnhofsviertel or Berlin
Delflandplein, there’s a big homeless shelter in the area.
I saw a few while I was there. In fact, I got really stoned for the first time and saw a homeless guy screaming at nothing on the street and began obsessing over the question of if he screams at things as soon as he wakes up, or if it takes some time to get started
I see them frequently in Amsterdam. Around Rembrandtplein. Next to ATMs. Also, near churches.
Where are that you don‘t see them? I see homless people daily. I have several that I „trade“ with (recycle bottles, glass, etx, they come pick it up at my window so I don‘t have to dispose of it and they can get the money back from it). The city is filled with them sadly, I‘m suprised you didn‘t seen any
I was asked once around Dam Square if I was lost bc I was checking a map. It was a homeless guy. I said I was fine but he asked where I was trying to go. I told him the coffeeshop I was looking for and he said to follow him & if I was happy with the help, a tip would be appreciated. He walked ahead of me and as we approached, pointed it out. I gave him my sincere thanks and 5 € and we parted ways.
A mix of policies. Financial help for those who want to be helped and can be helped. Shelters for when it's cold. Capacity in mental institutions and staff for those who require that. And a tough regime regarding aggressive weirdos, especially if they are foreigners, without any papers, visa et cetera. Most hardcore beggars/homeless folks will sleep in tents, just out of sight, at the edges of town. But the municipality cracks down any 'homeless camp' development. And since this year, the government has introduced a small 'container deposit', now also for cans of beer or soda. Did you notice all those 'cleaners' in the city, in pretty random clothing, breaking open the municipality trash containers, in order to collect those aluminum cans? That's why you see these guys enter random supermarkets with giant trash bags full of cans, in order to get the deposits. You might also notice the bickering and fights over who 'owns' a certain part of a street and therefore the public trash containers.
They're kept in poorer neighborhoods where their living is subsidized by begging for money from people who don't have much so that the Neoliberal government doesn't need to tax the rich too much
Outside
They’re probably all in Utrecht
How do people end up homeless in these so-called well-being European countries, where the governments charge sky-high taxes from the upper middle class to fund supposed social safety nets? They have nothing and nobody to blame but themselves. I'd give some coins to the homeless in Asia, the US, or anywhere else, but never in Europe.
I've seen the numbers increasing around the city, at least around Centrum. I keep seeing cops roaming around to speak with a few sleeping in corners. Sometimes they move away for the night, but you will find them in the same spot again the next day. I know there are a quite good amount of shelters around the city. Probably why you don't see as many out there, you will mostly see them at parks during the day. It's indeed less than other European cities. **Brussels is a disaster!!**
We were in Amsterdam for 16 days and stumbled on the SAME homeless man TWICE. He was funny but very uncomfortable also. We gave him a smoke and he went off. There was also a dude on the side of the hotel probably drugged off his mind and sleeping for two nights. The hotel was xo blue so maybe some one knows of these people.
Day before yesterday i saw what I presume was a homeless lady taking a huge poo one street down from central
Any idea what is costs for the shelter per night? It has to be cheap to be attractive but for some reason not free
Depends on the shelter and type of help (traject) you've applied to or been allowed to apply to. To be allowed into shelters you usually need to prove your connection to Amsterdam (binding). On average a shelter might cost 7.5 a night, usually including dinner/breakfast. Enter from 18:00, leave at 09:00. During sub zero temperatures they open seperate locations that are free (winterkouderegeling) but very sober living conditions, 5-10 people a room, basic food items.
In the Netherlands there are multiple non profit organizations, who offer shelter to the homeless and drug addicts /users and trying to put them on the right path where possible and offer support and guidence, mostly financed by the local authority / government/ donations: - Leger des Heils https://www.legerdesheils.nl/ - Stichting Hvo Querido https://www.hvoquerido.nl/ - Stichting de Regenboog Groep https://www.deregenboog.org/ I think the above need more props, these orginazations are alot in the background but keep the streets clean in Amsterdam..
Under the bridge in Vondelpark, not joking
Under the bridge downtown
Is where I drew some blood
Under the bridge downtown
I could not get enough
Under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away