Stichting vrienden van HVO/Querido
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Mission Statement
WHO IS HVO-QUERIDO? The people we work for are the face of HVO-Querido. We help around 3,500 people each year. Their perseverance and will to make something of their lives is inspiring, and with their experience, they in turn are able to do a great deal for people who are in a similar situation. As such, we stimulate clients to develop themselves further and support one another. We employ around 1,100 staff members, divided over 50 different facilities in Amsterdam, Diemen and Haarlem, to provide shelter and support. They create future plans with their clients and help them accomplish those plans. They do all sorts of things to help make this happen, such as organising a neighbourhood barbecue, finding sponsors for sports events, buying groceries or finding their clients suitable daytime activities. Where others might give up, our employees have faith in their clients’ talents. This enthusiasm is what energises them.
About This Cause
THEIR STORY, OUR CARE HVO-Querido takes care of vulnerable citizens in Amsterdam, Diemen, Amstelveen and Haarlem BUILDING A LIFE Sometimes people get left behind due to an accumulation of problems. What happens when increasing debts leave you and your family without a roof over your head? Or when you have a mental illness or an addiction? What if you’re being taken advantage of and have nowhere to turn? HVO-Querido is a care organisation operating in Amsterdam, Diemen, Amstelveen and Haarlem. We offer shelter, supervised housing and daytime activities for people who (temporarily) cannot get by on their own. We provide support to help them tackle their problems themselves. HVO-Querido operates based on the view that every person is able to live an independent life. Practically speaking, this means we provide various types of support for our clients. We help people get groceries, for example, or figure out their personal administration so that they can get on with life. Some people live long-term at one of our facilities; others have a home of their own and are given other forms of support, for example to help them find (volunteer) work. Everyone has special talents and deserves to be able to discover them. This may take time. HVO-Querido helps clients overcome boundaries and get ahead, preferably on-site – i.e., at our clients’ homes. And preferably with the assistance of the people close to them - their parents, friends, exercise buddies and peers. We call this informal care. In the case of clients who live an isolated life, we help them come into contact with their neighbourhood and family. AT THE CENTRE OF SOCIETY HVO-Querido has existed in its current form since 2000. The Vereeniging Hulp voor Onbehuisden (‘Association for Helping the Homeless’) or HVO was founded in 1904. The Querido foundation is named after psychiatrist Arie Querido (1901-1983). Starting in the 1930s, he began to bring the social side of psychiatry to people’s attention and as such, created the foundation for our current outpatient mental healthcare system. Of all times People who had mental problems that prevented them from participating in society used to be cared for in institutions, far away from the civilised world. These days, people with mental vulnerabilities live at the centre of society, and that’s precisely where HVO-Querido does its work. Some of the problems we deal with currently did not exist in that form a century ago, like addictions to substances such as XTC or to online gambling. But other problems, such as human trafficking, anger issues and addiction in general did exist then, though perhaps they were referred to differently. There will always be some people in society who (temporarily) need a safety net. With our knowledge regarding psychiatry and our experience with sheltering homeless people, we are able to offer such individuals support during their recovery in a professional, pragmatic manner. They were known as the castaways of society, the men, women and children who sought refuge with the Association for Helping the Homeless (VHO) in Amsterdam. Everyone was welcome: homeless people, prostitutes, tramps, ex-convicts, unwed mothers, families that had been evicted. They were given temporary shelter and help to become virtuous citizens able to take care of themselves. WHO ARE OUR CLIENTS? Becoming homeless: it could happen to anyone of us. The cause differs: a divorce and/or the issues resulting from it, an addiction, no safety net. Every homeless person has their own story. The thing that all of our clients have in common is the fact that they are vulnerable. They are in no way pathetic or without prospects. Given the right support, most of them are able to find their way. HVO-Querido supports people in their quest to be independent. The profiles below are intended to give a good idea of the variety of people we shelter and support. For privacy reasons, their names and backgrounds have been altered so that they will not be recognised. John (52) is a real Amsterdam man, a jack-of-all trades and master of none. He worked in the hospitality industry, on trams, and as cab driver. He lived a wild life, and doesn’t regret any of it – except for his drug use. When staying with his best friend, he stole that friend’s PlayStation to be able to buy drugs. His mother and ex-wife had given up on him too, so he left the country for a while. When he returned to the Netherlands, he had nothing left. These days, John lives on the north side of the city in one of HVO-Querido’s temporary housing units. He’s almost managing to make ends meet on his own now, apart from some aid for managing his monetary affairs and restoring contact with his family. He still uses drugs sometimes, but they no longer control his whole life. He teaches elderly people how to use the Internet at the local community centre; he always had a knack for computers. He recently went to an Ajax football match with his brother, and made it home without any issues for the first time in years. Magda (26) could not make ends meet to support her and her son in her hometown in Romania – even while working two jobs. In order to make ends meet, she sometimes worked as a sex worker in the city. A friend of a friend told her that there was a lot of money to be made in clubs in the Netherlands. She went with him to Amsterdam, and ended up in an illegal brothel. Her passport was taken from her, and the owner threatened to tell her family about her work whenever she refused customers. She had to hand over most of the money she made. After a few weeks, she succeeded in running away. A passer-by took her to the local police station. Once she made it to one of HVO-Querido’s shelters, she was finally able to catch her breath. After talking to a social worker and a lawyer, she has decided to report the men who have taken advantage of her. She will be allowed to stay at the shelter while the court case is pending. Magda is thinking about building a new life for herself and her child in the Netherlands once the ordeal is over. Rayan (19) is a smooth talker; you have to be when you live on the streets. Rayan’s father left his family to return to Morocco when Rayan was eight. His mother struggled with having to raise four children on her own. Rayan was a troublemaker and was expelled from school, and then from a second school too. He stopped going to the third after a month or so. He hung out in town with his friends and robbed tourists whenever he needed cash. After many different brushes with the law, he was assigned to a youth institution. He wanted to leave that place as soon as possible, because the rules were very strict. Nowadays, Rayan is completing his education to be able to make his own money in the future. He is interested in becoming a security guard. He lives with two other boys in a house with a shared kitchen and bathroom. Their supervisor stops by every week and helps them be self-sufficient and do things like keep their room clean and eat healthily. Rayan is also competing in the Dutch Street Cup football competition, with other boys just like him. The referee is very strict, but Rayan understands why – after all, the man has to manage a field full of short-fused young men. Albert (68) was committed to a psychiatric hospital for many years. He did so well there that he was released to live on his own once more. However, being by oneself all day is hard for all of us. He contacted one of the hospital’s nurses to help him find something to do. They settled on Het Vestzak, HVO-Querido’s daytime activity centre for elderly people. Albert visits three times a week. He chats with the supervisors and the people who have come that day over a cup of coffee, does some work in the herb garden, and he’s taken up drawing once again; something he took a lot of pleasure in back when he worked as a graphic artist. But his favourite part of coming to the activity centre is fellow client Piet’s freshly baked rolls. Danny (30) and Anisha (28) worked the night shift at Schiphol International Airport and were thus able to save enough to travel to Suriname, where Anisha’s family lives. When their son Imro had just been born, Anisha was working at a hairdresser’s, and her mother would come watch Imro. After Anisha lost her job, her mother came by daily. Thus, it was a huge shock to everyone when Anisha’s mother died. Anisha had lost her main support, practically speaking as well; she didn’t really know how to take care of Imro. Once Danny lost his job as well, the couple was no longer able to afford the rent. Energy bills and letters from the housing corporation went unopened. Eight months later, they were evicted. The GGD helped them come into contact with HVO-Querido. They were given a small rental apartment to start over, and a supervisor who would stop by twice a week to provide parenting support and teach them how to manage their money. After a while, Danny found a new job, giving them more room financially. The couple was then assigned to social housing in the west part of the city via an exit programme for social aid and shelters. It will take them