Emergency Shelter
The municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo will open a temporary crisis emergency shelter for 150 refugees on October 5. These refugees, with the prospect of a residence status, will be housed for three weeks in Sporthal de Weijer. This shelter will last from Oct. 5 to Oct. 26. The city council has taken this decision at the request of the Safety Region Brabant Zuidoost to contribute in this way to the emergency shelter for refugees. The costs of the reception will be borne by The State.
Crisis emergency shelter to relieve COA
There is a crisis in the reception of refugees. The Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) does not currently have enough places available to give all asylum seekers "bed, bath and bread" and is working to create new asylum seekers' centers (AZC), but this takes time.
The State Secretary has therefore instructed all 25 safety regions in the Netherlands to arrange crisis emergency shelter. Each safety region has a total of 450 places for crisis emergency shelter. Because we find the situation in Ter Apel distressing, we as a municipality would like to do our temporary bit. We will therefore open a temporary shelter in sports hall the Weijer.
Good and safe care
The Safety Region is in charge of the site. The reception in Mierlo follows earlier reception in Deurne, Heeze-Leende and Waalre. The reception in these municipalities went fine. This is partly because 24-hour supervision/security was already present. This guidance is provided by a security company with experience in this field. We think it is important that the reception is as good and safe as possible for both the local residents and the refugees. To keep the reception location safe and livable, there are house rules for the refugees. For example, it must be quiet between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. so that everyone can sleep undisturbed.
Use of the site
Due to the crisis -emergency shelter, Sporthal de Weijer can temporarily not be used for sports and recreational purposes. Because construction has to take place prior to the shelter and after the shelter it will take days to dismantle all facilities, the sports hall will be occupied from October 3 to October 28. We will make arrangements with the users.
On October 3, work will begin to furnish the site. This is because the location must be made suitable for the stay of the group of refugees. Think of laying a solid floor, placing beds, tables and chairs and extra sanitary facilities outside.
Meetings
Because the decision will have short-term consequences for all users of the Weijer and the immediate vicinity of the sports hall, there were meetings last Thursday for the users of the Weijer and the residents living directly next door to engage in conversation.
But even if the sports hall is not in your street or neighborhood, you may have questions or concerns about the temporary emergency shelter of 150 refugees. Because we think it is important, that everyone can also express these concerns, there is a public information meeting for all residents of Mierlo on Monday, October 3 at 8:00 pm. Are you worried or do you have questions? Or do you have good tips or ideas? Come to sports café de Weijer on Monday evening. Then we will talk!
For the sake of organization, we ask that you register yourself for the meeting. Sign up at noodopvangdeweijer@geldrop-mierlo.nl. Please also indicate the number of people you are coming with.
Learn more
On our website geldrop-mierlo.nl/emergencycare we will post a list of most frequently asked questions and their answers in the course of today. Of course, residents can also contact us by phone at 040-2893 893 or email their questions to: noodopvangdeweijer@geldrop-mierlo.nl