Manhunt for Homeless in Ede

Manhunt for Homeless in Ede

There is a search going on for homeless people in Ede who sleep outside. Since May 1, the night shelter in that municipality has been closed because a new permanent shelter will open by the end of the year. Until then, enforcement is being carried out on people sleeping outdoors by removing their tents. Three local parties believe this should stop. “Without perspective, these people are now being chased away time and time again.” D66, GroenLinks, and Mens en Milieu Ede (MME) are concerned about how the municipality is dealing with the homeless. The trigger for this is a letter recently sent to the mayor by two homeless people. “We, Albert and Wesley, who are simply homeless or even ’tramps’ in the common parlance of your municipality, have no choice but to convince you in this way that our situation is complicated, has many facets, but is inhuman and even cruel and hopeless for us (and everyone!)”, wrote the two in the letter. D66 councilor Sam Elvering spoke with some homeless people in Ede. According to him, the situation is becoming more ‘heartbreaking’ by the day. “The new night shelter will not open until November 2024 at the earliest. Since the closure of the night shelter, the Salvation Army has provided these people with tents to sleep in. On May 31, the council decided to enforce the removal of tents from people sleeping outside, and without perspective, these people are now being chased away time and time again,” says Elvering. As a result, according to the councilor, a ‘cat and mouse game’ has emerged between the municipality and the homeless. “The day before yesterday, one of these homeless people was taken to the hospital with symptoms of hypothermia. People from the Salvation Army had to pull him out of his tent and bring him back to consciousness by pain stimuli. He was then urgently picked up by the ambulance.” According to a spokesperson for the municipality, it is not new that homeless people cannot find shelter in the summer. “It concerns a (winter) night shelter that is open annually from November 1 to May 1. Since November 1, 2023, a new structural location has been found for the night shelter.” This location is currently being prepared for use and will be open all year round. However, Elvering believes that the municipality should also be there for these people now. The spokesperson says that this is already happening. “People entitled to shelter are helped to a place in regular social housing as soon as possible. This also applies when the night shelter is open. Sometimes there is no place available immediately, then alternative emergency solutions such as hotels are sought as much as possible. This is practically always successful.” The spokesperson does emphasize that there is also a group ‘who do not want or cannot be helped’. “They are also no longer welcome in a night shelter due to, for example, bad behavior. These people often still sleep on the street or in the forest.” “This is what we were also told,” responded the councilor. “It’s a standard story. Of course, there are homeless people with problems, but most say they would like to receive help. Suppose they have an alcohol or drug problem, then the municipality should help with that, provided they also want it themselves.” The three parties request the municipality to take action. Elvering suggests that if homeless people cannot be accommodated in hotels, temporary container homes should be placed somewhere in the municipality. “So that those people can sleep in the evening for the time being. And make sure there is at least a public shower and a toilet.” In 2019, we made the following report about homeless people in Ede: [link to the report]