Red CrossDue to the corona crisis, thousands of people in the Netherlands are still in need every day. For example, the self-employed and single mothers live in poverty and depend on food aid.
Marcia Nieuwenhuis
Latest update:
09:46
According to the Red Cross aid organization, it is estimated that more than 19,000 people in the Netherlands cannot yet manage on their own. Families, people with low incomes and single mothers in particular have been hit by the corona virus. ‘The need for food’ remains, according to the aid organization, ‘a major concern’ for many vulnerable people.
According to the Red Cross, hygiene is often cut back, although this is also a basic necessity of life. Director of the Red Cross Netherlands Marieke van Schaik: ,,We see that people have to make a choice between food, soap or diapers. Vulnerable people often have no money for essential care products, such as sanitary towels, incontinence products, diapers, toothpaste or detergents. If people cannot take good care of themselves and their household, it often makes it more difficult for them to get out of their predicament.”
Although the relaxations provide more employment, such as for the (private) cleaning industry and for catering staff, the work for others starts slowly. People have been forced into informal debts.
food aid
The taxi industry has been hit hard by corona. The Amstelveen taxi driver Marco is one of the people who cannot make ends meet. ,,If I’m lucky, I’ll have to make do with one, maybe two rides a night. That’s maddening. And in the meantime, the whole world is pretending that corona is almost over, but nothing has changed for me yet.”
The Red Cross calls on not to forget these self-employed people, (single) parents, the elderly and families and to support them during the aftermath of the corona crisis. Every week, the Red Cross supports people who fall outside the scope of regular help with shopping cards. Van Schaik: ,,We will not let these people down and we certainly want to support them until the end of this year with basic necessities such as. Help is desperately needed to keep doing that.”
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