Distrust and shame keep Eindhoven's homeless on the streets even at -10: ‘We keep trying!’
Eindhoven 26-12-2025 Source: ED Not all homeless people want to go to Winter shelter even in feeling temperatures of -10 degrees. There are various reasons why some homeless people prefer to stay on the streets even when it is extremely cold. Springplank will do all it can to convince these individuals to still visit the winter shelter but [...]
Success story of Bjorn
Eindhoven 25-08-2025 Bjorn came back to the Netherlands after a difficult period in South America, propertyless and with his family still abroad. Through a friend, he ended up at the central walk-in of Springplank, where his road to recovery began. Step by step, Bjorn found a temporary place to sleep, first at ’t Eindje, then at [...]
Homeless for 1 day: Blog post 7
Homeless for 1 day: Blog post 6
Homeless for 1 day: Blog post 5
Homeless for 1 day: Blog post 4
Homeless for 1 day: Blog post 3
Homeless for 1 day: Blog post 2
Homeless for 1 day: Blog post 1
Interview with Anita van Bijnen
Introduction: Anita van Bijnen has been working at Springplank since January 2024, here she does mail distribution for homeless people. She started on Vissersstraat and now works on Fuutlaan since 17 June. Daily Duties Anita's working day starts with processing postal addresses for homeless people approved by the municipality. She creates mailboxes and sorts the [...]
Together with CKE Eindhoven
Wikke is culture manager at CKE Eindhoven and tells more about the collaboration with 56 Eindhoven and Springplank. “Creativity for everyone, that's our goal! This is of course very broad, but from my role as culture manager I give substance to this by actively connecting culture to social issues, special target groups, working on [...]
Snek Hemel
“You help me, I help you” tells Peter, one of our former candidates. He started out on the streets, but with the help of Springplank, he now has his own property to his name for a while and he is immensely grateful for that. “I've had a hard time, that's why I want to be able to help others too” says [...]
Volunteer at Springplank
On National Volunteer Day, we say hello to our very own volunteer Tom. Tom is involved in keeping the Springplank website up-to-date. For example, he created the ‘Springplank in the news’ page! You can read this under the ‘news’ tab on this website. “Giving something good back to society is [...]
City workshop-56
“I would so love to show a really real picture of Stadsatelier 56 in Eindhoven.” What actually happens at Stadsatelier 56, and what are the activities that take place here? We put those questions and more to Jasper and Ron, who work at Stadsatelier 56: “At Stadsatelier 56, it's mainly about free [...]
What do our tutors do?
When someone applies to the Springplank foundation with a request for help, they are helped further by one of our counsellors, but what do they actually do? Jip explains this to us! “Being a counsellor means that you support and facilitate someone's request for help. This often involves topics such as work, housing, finances and social [...]
Intern or working student at Springplank
Within Springplank, we are only too happy to help students during an internship or welcome them as working students. What is it like to work as a student at Springplank? We ask Tess and Tessa! “Every day is different. Sometimes we start with the team, then first we chat about how things are going and [...]
Blog post: Edwin Frericks on his work at Springplank - “Really seeing and hearing people”
23-08-2024 Edwin Frericks has been with Springplank, an organisation that helps people redirect their lives, for three years. The father of two children and an experienced counsellor, he has found his way within the Intake & Advice team. “I started at Springplank as a pathway counsellor,” says Edwin. “That was a [...]
A coat that provides warmth for everyone who needs it, Together for Eindhoven helps vulnerable residents
EINDHOVEN - Samen voor Eindhoven held the ‘Give a coat and warm a heart’ campaign for the eighth time. With success: more than 2,500 winter coats were handed in at the seven collection points in recent weeks. This year, a category was added, sleeping bags. One of the collection points was the Maatje040 organisation, part of the Voluntary [...]
Interview with Boaz van der Hoek
Interview with Boaz van der Hoek, born 7 June 1996, living in Eindhoven. When Boaz was young, he already struggled with addiction problems. This started in secondary school with an addiction to gaming and, in hindsight, this turned out to be the beginning of his susceptibility to addictions. He went from vwo back to havo, [...]
First Work
Our goal is to guide candidates back to work as soon as possible so that they can participate in society again. To achieve this goal, we cooperate with various organisations where they can start up again to get back into the labour market. Van der Leegte Werkt One of [...]
From candidate to employee
“I was very destructive with myself.” tells JP, one of the candidates as well as a colleague at Springplank. “All day, I was feeling tense and restless and suffering from a lot of negative thoughts. I had the feeling that there was no solution and things would not work out. At one point [...]
Tour du monde
“Music brought us together” Dennis and Doris tell about how they met. They have both been candidates at Springplank and have experienced and learned a lot during that period and this is what they are releasing a song about called ‘Tour du monde’. With this song, they hope to convey a message “I leave my [...]
We can learn from each other.
“I knew very quickly that I wanted to do this work” begins Charlotte, business manager at Bakkie040. Here she works with Şoreş, one of the candidates at Springplank and has been working at Bakkie040 since its opening. “We immediately clicked with each other” answers Şoreş when asked if he had to get used to Charlotte when she joined Bakkie040 [...]
Connection.Trust.Guide
“I would so love to show a really real picture of homelessness in Eindhoven.” So what is team outreach and what do they deal with? We put that question to Edwin, an employee in Springplank's outreach team: “As an outreach team, we go out and try to get in touch [...]
Not homeless, but homeless.
When talking about someone who is homeless, what is the first image that comes to mind? Many people won't dare admit it, but the stigma attached to homelessness is still the smelly guy walking around town with all his stuff and begging [...]
Exercise is my relaxation.
We hear from candidates that they cover a lot of miles in a day, either because they have to be in various places scattered around the city or because they simply enjoy walking immensely. Today we are talking to Adriaan. On average, he walks 8 to 20 km a day. Adriaan is a sweet man who likes to take care of others; [...]
Being a father.
Being a father'I am a father of a little son. He is now 4. He lives with his mother but I see him very often. We have nothing on paper but I think if you have a child together and you are no longer together, you can sort things out even without papers. Like how often you [...]
On foot with a purpose.
We spoke to Martijn about how he fills his days. He told us that he walks a lot and better still; that he also cleans up litter in the meantime. Read more about Martijn in the blog below! Day care ‘I walk up and down to day care every day. That's half an hour there and half an hour back each time. If [...]
I miss him every day.
We spoke to Harry about his time at the shelter and the friendships formed there. Read the blog below! Homeless shelter ‘I preferred not to stay in a homeless shelter in the first place but some persons made my day. These have been some fellow residents and supervisors. Friendships have developed in the shelter and one person is a [...]
Can I stay one more day?
We spoke to Aiden who was placed out of home at an early age and has lived in different places. He talks about how he experienced this and where he is now in this blog. My birthday “Since I was 15, I have not lived at home but stayed in safehouses and combination groups. At 18, I had to [...]
Luensey to the European softball championship.
Luensey to the European softball championship! One of our candidates, Luensey, is going to the European softball championship soon! We asked him about his story and where his passion for softball comes from. To the Netherlands ‘I am from Curacao, I was born there. When I was 6 years old, I came to the Netherlands with my mother. When I was 12 [...]
My dream job is to become a dentist.
My dream job is to become a dentist! We spoke to candidate Pauline about her past and where she is now. Read the blog below to find out more! Finding a house ‘From the age of 18 to 23, I moved 7 times. Then I don't count the moves where I went to bridge with friends. I rented several [...]
Do you have a Valentine?
We gave our candidates the opportunity to hand out a rose to someone dear to them on Valentine's Day. A loving day for some, but a double feeling for others. ‘I am my own Valentine.’ ‘Right now, I have no love, I am my own Valentine. I would love to give my dad a [...], though.
It was another Christmas like old times
We spoke to candidate Bernadien about her health and her current situation. Read the blog below to find out more! Past ‘A year ago, I was found comatose on the sofa. I had an alcohol problem and I drank my liver to death. My stomach filled up with fluid because of this. In time, I see [...]
My own home!
Title: My own home! We spoke to candidate Peter about his new home. He told us how happy he is with his ‘own home’, and much more. Read the blog below to find out more about Peter! I-I-I ‘My city has changed; a lot has been demolished and the mentality has gone downhill. Before [...]
Good intentions?
Good intentions. Everyone has them. Ever thought about the resolutions of someone with no roof over his or her head?