First "Friends" Home for Voorschoten
Imagine you’re young and don’t have a permanent place to live. That makes it hard to build a future for yourself. The municipality of Voorschoten, the housing authority De Sleutels, and the De Binnenvest Foundation joined forces to help these young people. On February 6, they signed a partnership agreement, making the first “Friends” housing unit in Voorschoten a reality.
The Friendswoning is a housing concept that already exists in several locations throughout the Netherlands. The Friendswoning provides housing for young people between the ages of 16 and 27 who, due to various circumstances, do not have a permanent home or place of residence. In addition to shelter, the young residents receive support that enables them to work toward their future. The Binnenvest Foundation is responsible for providing support and placing young people in these homes. Within the Leiden region, De Binnenvest is the expert when it comes to supporting people who are homeless or without a permanent home. Emmy Klooster, executive director of De Binnenvest: “For young people transitioning to adulthood, the Friendswoning is a wonderful living arrangement. They receive support that helps them learn to live independently and find mutual support among themselves. We’ve also seen that it helps when local residents welcome them warmly, as happened in Leiderdorp.”
Voorschoten: A Place for Young People, Too
There is a great need for housing throughout the Netherlands, especially for young people. The municipality of Voorschoten believes it is important to provide solutions to this problem. That is why, together with the municipalities of Leiden, Leiderdorp, Oegstgeest, and Zoeterwoude, it has contributed financially to the realization of this project. Alderman Paul de Bruijn: “It’s great that we now have a Friendswoning in Voorschoten as well. It’s important that young people have the chance to get their lives back on track close to home; there’s a need for this here as well.” The Friendswoning in Voorschoten has been in use since November 2022.
De Sleutels: A Good Home for Everyone
The Sleutels housing association manages over 8,000 homes in Leiden and Voorschoten and has made the Friendswoning available. Danny Wijnbelt, managing director, says: “One of our goals is to create more equal opportunities for people looking for housing. We do this by making homes specifically accessible to certain target groups. This ‘Friendswoning’ is a great example of that. As an organization, you can’t get initiatives like this off the ground on your own. That’s why it’s so great that we’re working together on this with the municipality of Voorschoten and De Binnenvest.”
Sign and toast
After signing the partnership agreement, the partners raised a toast with the young people to their new home. Aldermen Paul de Bruijn and René Zoetemelk were present on behalf of the municipality of Voorschoten.