Caring Hilversum

“An ounce of well-being saves a kilo of care”. This statement, often recalled by the CDA Hilversum group, should receive much more attention by fully focusing on prevention policy.

The well-being of people is central to CDA Hilversum. People are primarily responsible for this themselves. But that responsibility is not always easy to take. The task for the municipality, together with social organisations, the business community and sports associations, is to ensure a healthy environment, close to home, for young and old.

It is important that facilities are organised close by. Whether it concerns the emergency care of the new Tergooi hospital, the GP, physiotherapy, daytime activities or the community room. It creates familiar faces and reduces the chance of loneliness. This is our commitment!

Loneliness is a major problem in our society. Thanks to CDA Hilversum, attention is finally being paid to this problem. Loneliness is growing and 11% of our residents now feel seriously lonely. It occurs in all age categories, but our elderly are a particularly vulnerable group. The care and attention for the elderly is a responsibility of all of us, family, neighbours, acquaintances and associations.

To combat loneliness, we are committed to strengthening existing social and societal ties and encouraging older people to seek out social contacts themselves. Combating loneliness remains a spearhead in health care and welfare policy;

In the coming years, CDA Hilversum wants to reduce loneliness by rewarding organisations in our subsidy policy that work to combat loneliness. For example, subsidies to voluntary organisations, such as the Vrijwilligerscentrale and Stichting Present, are considerably increased if a plan against loneliness is drawn up. But associations such as SenVer, community centres and sports clubs can also claim additional subsidies.

We want a municipal approach to loneliness, in which elderly people who are at risk of becoming isolated are visited regularly.

We propose that the subject of loneliness be discussed during the 'kitchen table discussion'.

It is important that volunteers and professionals (learn to) identify in a timely manner when loneliness takes on worrying forms. In this way, timely informal support or, if necessary, professional interventions can be initiated.

The new generation of retirees has a lot to offer. Because we like to keep them actively involved in society, we plan to offer all people who reach the state pension age an information pack in which they are called upon to use their talent and knowledge for the community.

We protect what is most dear to us: our families and relatives. Families are the cornerstone of society. We choose a society based on close-knit families that you can fall back on. The circles of attention and care must be drawn ever wider from within the family and relatives. In doing so, we do not lose sight of the interests of single people.

When there are problems in the family, we work on a single plan for the family, coordinated by a single director for the whole family, with attention to legal problems, relationship problems, parenting problems, safety and debt problems. Too often there are too many care providers in the house who do not cooperate enough, with the result that the situation can even worsen. We also see that people remain dependent on help for too long as a result.

In times of adversity, it is nice to have someone close to you who can support you. That is why CDA Hilversum is in favour of expanding the network of lean-on and support families.

We offer low-threshold relationship help for relationship problems. We look first at the interests of the children, without losing sight of the family as a whole. We strive for a one-stop shop where people can turn to in the event of complex separations. We also focus on housing that offers temporary shelter for parents with children in a divorce situation.

The consultation office's employees are an important source of information for many young parents and the building is a safe place. In concrete terms, there is a desire to move the consultation office from Edisonplein to a central location nearby.

We want professionals in our neighbourhoods who will do what is necessary for our residents. They should focus more on the prevention and avoidance of (health) problems. Less indication where possible, more general facilities in the area that are accessible to everyone who needs them.

In youth care, we see an increase in providers that focus on light care. We also see that children remain dependent on care for far too long. This is not good for the children and also leads to additional financial shortfalls. This is undesirable.

We want a clear delineation of what youth care is and what falls under normal upbringing. We are making more collaboration possible between youth care and (appropriate) education. We make clear agreements with youth care providers, carry out adequate financial checks and tackle care fraud. Where possible, we also make clear agreements with general practitioners and other referrers to prevent us from losing control.

In recent years, millions of euros have been invested in the Social Square with the aim of improving services. To date, this has not been possible, as a result of which the objectives have not been achieved for a long time. For CDA Hilversum, the rapid processing of care applications remains a top priority.

In recent years, the relationship between healthcare providers and the municipality has deteriorated. As a result, the tenders did not match the needs of the provider and the user. In the coming years, considerably more will have to be invested in the cooperation between all parties.

Foster families provide a safe haven for vulnerable children. The children are given the opportunity to catch their breath or find a new 'home' themselves. CDA Hilversum wants the foster parents to receive real compensation for the costs they incur and is making major efforts to increase the number of foster families.

We naturally pay attention to the continuity of care for young people who turn 18. Together with the young person, we look for a good transition point to other forms of care and other sources of funding.

Good care naturally consists of good cooperation with general practitioners. We have good contact with the general practitioners and where necessary, we support them with practical youth care assistants.

Healthcare is changing and the ageing population is only increasing. CDA Hilversum wants there to be enough facilities for when the demand for care is unavoidable. This means sufficient care facilities in Hilversum and preferably in your own neighbourhood.

In recent years, the Hilversum CDA has called for a policy plan to be drawn up to tackle the ageing population in an integrated manner. The current coalition has stopped this. The current policy has caused a lot of unrest in recent years. For example, there is a lot of 'dragging' with the elderly and there is no overview of the care on offer. This cannot and should not be allowed to happen!

In the coming years, CDA Hilversum will focus on:

• life cycle-proof building;
• encourage the construction of small residential care centres in the neighbourhood, aimed at meeting people;
• tackling loneliness among the elderly. Especially now!;
• support and encourage voluntary wor among the elderly;
• continuing to invest in informal care policy;
• maintaining and developing care jobs;
• promoting exercise for the elderly. It keeps them physically and mentally vital;
• take into account the increasing ageing of the mobility policy;
• stimulating the conversation about purpose, it gives meaning;
• making meeting possible

Neighbourhood centres where neighbours can meet and get to know each other are indispensable. These can also be places where GPs and other care providers can work close to people. We support and encourage projects that bring generations and cultures into contact with each othe.

When building homes for seniors, we pay extra attention to the accessibility of amenities such as a GP post and a pharmacy and the safety of the living environment. We are committed to preserving amenities in the area.

We want more variety in the range of housing options for the elderly in the vicinity of care. Almshouses, small-scale apartment complexes, are an attractive alternative for the elderly who want to continue living on their own, but no longer want to have to care for an entire house.

For people in the last phase of life, there must be good care and support and attention must be paid to questions of meaning. Municipalities can play a facilitating role in this by encouraging the establishment of hospices in the municipality and, where necessary, supporting them with financing.

As the elderly get older, they become more vulnerable to fraud and petty crime, including via the internet. This has a major impact on their sense of security. We are committed to providing more information and want the police, banks and companies to pay extra attention to notifications and reports from the elderly.

The municipality has been given a number of additional tasks, not only in the field of care but also in the field of accessibility of public space. In recent years, CDA Hilversum has drawn attention, for example by setting up a hotline, to ensure that everyone can participate and that barriers are removed.

In 2020, CDA Hilversum held extensive talks with the then Minister for Disability Affairs, and the Local Inclusion Agenda was adopted shortly afterwards. CDA Hilversum will closely monitor the implementation of the plan and adjust it where necessary.

In the coming years, CDA Hilversum will focus on:

• ensuring that people with disabilities can participate in the labour market;
• ensuring sufficient internships;
• moving aids along instead of the disabled person being unable to use a aid for days to weeks;
• broad social accessibility;
• inclusive playgrounds, so that children with disabilities can also participate.

More than 3,500 people in Hilversum live below the poverty line. That is a huge number. A Jewish proverb says, “Poverty in one's house is worse than fifty plagues. Nothing is harder to bear than poverty, for he who is oppressed by poverty is like one to whom all the cares of the world cling (…)”.

We want as few children as possible to grow up in poverty. We want to offer the families where these children grow up more customisation and better debt settlements. We want to make more effort to preventively reach the risk groups in order to avoid debts in the future.

Poverty often leads to loneliness because there is no money to do anything. There are many schemes, opportunities and organisations that are committed to combating poverty and loneliness. We help these organisations and ensure greater awareness and accessibility of these opportunities.

Poverty has the risk that young people can fall into criminal hands. They can be guided by fast money. In collaboration with education, youth care and other partners, the municipality can focus on early detection.

We help the food banks and clothing banks where we can. We help them find good housing. They must be easily accessible, but they must also be thoughtful with regard to practical questions.

We want to prevent eviction due to debt, especially when it comes to families with children. Homelessness has serious social and psychological effects for those affected and increases the problems and costs for those involved and society. We want the (debt) assistance processes to be deployed early and effectively.­

In everyday life, too many people have difficulty with reading and writing. Low literacy is way too high. It unfairly puts people at a disadvantage in society. In recent years, considerable efforts have been made to reduce low literacy, including through the regional action plan 'approach to low literacy'. CDA Hilversum will continue to closely monitor the implementation of this plan.

The library plays a major role in reducing this problem. We see the library as a meeting place where people from diverse backgrounds come together to gain knowledge and have the opportunity to discover all the beauty that literature, art and science have to offer.

We offer help in finding internships for young people. The organisations and companies in Hilversum are actively encouraged to offer young people an internship.

Internship discrimination will not be tolerated. Young people can file a complaint about internship discrimination with the Discrimination Centre Gooi and Vechtstreek. We also try to support young people in other ways to catch up, for instance by facilitating summer schools or extra guidance.

CDA Hilversum advocates for a youth desk within the Social Square in Hilversum. The youth desk must be realised with the existing FTE capacity. The idea behind this is a one-stop shop for many questions that young people have. Young people aged 18 to 26 can ask questions about debts, living independently, applying for benefits, following training and finding work.

We pay extra attention to mental health care. We want to prevent distressing situations and confused behaviour on the street through better cooperation between institutions and social partners. We also pay attention to the cooperation between the police and the GGZ. Local residents can call a central telephone number 24 hours a day if they are concerned about a neighbour.

Developments such as those that have taken place at De Stolpe, in which many clients are placed in a building that is far too small, without space for daytime activities or a garden, are not acceptable. We opt for a small-scale approach and we make agreements with organisations that do not have a direct financial relationship with the municipality and we will point out their social responsibility to all residents.

The corona crisis has also taken its toll on people mentally. We offer residents as much support as possible to process the consequences and get back to life.

Work gives people joy in life. That is why we make every effort to prevent unemployment. We help people who are on welfare with a local basic job. This is a part-time job that yields more than the social assistance benefit and is aimed at moving on to a full-time job. We are committed to sustainable work; temporary jobs must always offer prospects of a follow-up.

Volunteers and volunteer carers over 65 years of age, who structurally carry out volunteer work several days a week or are volunteer carers, are exempt from the obligation to apply for a job.

CDA Hilversum welcomes a regional approach to create jobs with the business community, healthcare and other organisations, although local policy remains the starting point for cooperation.