Hotel industry and social organisations join forces

ROOM FOR CHANGE is a project that combines the power of the hotel industry with the expertise of social organisations. Its aim is to bring change to the lives of economically homeless people. This social initiative is expanding rapidly. Founded in Amsterdam, it has since expanded to Rotterdam and The Hague. A mission without borders with benefits from for all parties involved. Hotelvak spoke to Marnix Geus and Roos Meijer about this initiative.

ROOM FOR CHANGE won the Omarmprijs on 13 October. This prize rewards initiatives that work for Amsterdam residents on a tight budget. "It is a wonderful reward for the beautiful cooperation we have as a foundation with the hospitality industry on the one hand and De Regenboog Groep on the other. This gives economically homeless people the opportunity to be and stay off the streets in a sustainable way," Geus explained. 

"Entrepreneur Annemarie van Gaal presented the award to us on behalf of the jury. It really feels like a group award to me because so many wonderful people are involved. In Africa they say: it takes a village to raise a child. I have learned that it takes just such a group of involved people to be able to take someone off the streets," Geus says proudly. 

Half of the prize money from the Omarm Prize will be donated by The Present Movement, the foundation Geus founded and of which ROOM FOR CHANGE is part, to De Regenboog Groep. After all, they do the most important work according to Geus: selecting and guiding candidates towards housing and work. The rest of the money is badly needed to continue growing. "We will remain actively engaged in fundraising. It all still runs far too much on volunteers now. All help is very welcome," Geus states. 

A new partnership was recently established with DoubleTree by Hilton in Amsterdam. Hotels in other cities are now also hooking up, such as in The Hague and Rotterdam. "In The Hague, we cooperate with the Kessler Foundation. This selects and places the economically homeless in hotel Park Centraal," Meijer says. "In Rotterdam, we work with two social foundations. The Nico Adriaanse foundation and Stichting Ontmoeting place economically homeless people at Room Mate Bruno, among other places."

"In society, there is still a big stigma around economically homeless people. A nuisance is often expected beforehand, and there is a stereotypical image of what 'the homeless' looks like; man with beard, unkempt, possibly with addictions. In practice, however, and certainly within ROOM FOR CHANGE's target group, this image is not accurate. The process the social partners engage in is very precise and meticulous. Only the economically homeless who can cope with a sustainable and independent return to society are selected." explain Meijer and Geus.

In doing so, there is usually no discernible distinction in the hotel between who is a hotel guest or economically homeless.

"It is a challenge for ROOM FOR CHANGE to immediately get in touch with the right person at hotels. Especially in large organisations, you have to deal with several people. If we have direct contact with the general manager of the hotel, it helps the process enormously," Meijer says. It also helps if hotels hear experiences from other hotels that are already participating. After all, so far they are all hugely enthusiastic - not only about their contribution to the city and the lives of economically homeless people, but also the positive effect participating in ROOM FOR CHANGE has on their own employees.

"Right now, we are busy recruiting more hotels and social partners in new cities and showing them the example of The Rainbow Group and embracing it. When we had just started, we still often looked at numbers. Now we think quality is the most important thing. Everyone who is sustainably helped off the streets to an independent life counts."

"It would be very nice if this initiative takes place in all major cities in the Netherlands. Our ultimate dream is for it to go beyond the national borders."

Those inspired and interested can visit the ROOM FOR CHANGE website (https://www.roomforchange.world/) find more information to participate in this social initiative with impact.    

What does 'economically homeless' mean?
- An economically homeless person has an acute housing need created by life-changing events such as unemployment, illness or divorce;
- An economically homeless person is (financially) self-sufficient;
- Severe mental health problems and addiction are not an issue for the economically homeless.