Frequently asked questions

Room for Change is for people who are temporarily without a home: people who, through a combination of divorce, job loss or illness, lost their home and now live partly on the street and/or with acquaintances. They have no psychiatric or addiction problems. It is essential to get this group out of that situation as quickly as possible, so they do not develop such problems.

A participant is awaiting (semi-)permanent housing, and the guidance does everything to arrange this quickly. Usually this works within three months, with a runway to six. A participant leaves the hotel as soon as they can move on. We ask hotels to keep rooms available for at least three months per participant, based on the “critical time intervention” principle, the time someone needs to recover from life on the street.

First of all, it is a wonderful chance for participants to find rest and recover before returning to work and housing. The experience of hotels and their staff is also very positive. Almost all participants move on to (semi-)permanent housing after their stay.

Each city has a care partner responsible for the selection, placement and guidance of participants, with a dedicated contact person.

The contribution is €450 per month, paid by the participants themselves. Once they have a residential address, their benefit increases so they can pay this amount. We ask participants to contribute partly to encourage a sense of responsibility and independence. For some, this amount can be too much; we are glad to discuss this with the hotel at the start. As €450 rarely covers cleaning costs, we usually agree a weekly cleaning moment.

Private rents have risen enormously, so participants often cannot meet requirements like several months’ deposit, a work contract or other financial guarantees. People who are economically homeless often became so through divorce, job loss and/or illness, which complicates the rental situation further. Waiting times for social housing are currently often ten years or longer.

People who are temporarily without a home risk ending up on the street and developing heavier problems there. By getting them off the street early, through a stay in a hotel, their chance of recovery and return into society grows much greater.