I was sleeping rough first days in Amsterdam tired and hungry, when a guy I met who had not much himself invited me to his squatted building and offered me potato and onion soup and a glass of port, a place to crash for a couple of days. I will always remember that kindness.
Bit different but I used to cook for the homeless being homeless and later squatting myself for a long time.
In Amsterdam we had "Squat cafe's" giving out vegetarian food for homeless people. We get the food from the street markets and cook up meals like pasta, bread and garlic butter, salad fruits and vegetables. Many market stalls throw a lot of food away and with some effort you can make a lot of people happy.
My wife and me (25 years later) bring food packets to the local charity program, last week we brought Christmas presents that they will give out next week. The project here is run by volunteers who collect food from the local supermarkets and distribute that to people in need that don't meet the criteria to apply for the official food bank. There are no questions asked, you can take a certain amount of products and there is advice where to get further assistance or government support.
It is hard to see people waiting for 2 hours in front of the building to get some food. Gets me triggered but I feel we are doing something good for them, although it is limited by only donating instead of volunteering.
I second this. One can get support renting a place oneself or by means of a "wohngruppe". Same here in the Netherlands.
Some friends of my son, friends we know for years live this way, having a spacious student like room and get mental / social / medical help, can interact with others in the group if they want to or not. They are clearly better off than at home in their opinion.
I strongly agree that betreues wohnen would be the first big step solving the mental burden from abuse and neglect.
Child labor was half assed abolished around that time in the Netherlands, but at 12 your ass was still kicked into factory labor, farms or the mines here in South Limburg.
I have a good family life. Making a coffee and tea first thing in the morning for my wife, getting a slap on the butt, asking me 'how was your sleep suckhead?'
Can’t find anything Dutch from his Ideés Noir, but it really sucks I learn now he suffered severe depression. I known how it feels like, unsafe childhood.
Whenever we order out, when I don't have the energy to cook my son orders the gross pasta that cost 15€ and complain afterwards I do it better.
Today I did not want to cook, so he wanted to order the carbonara.... if you would serve that to an Italian they would rather jump into the Vesuvius than eat it. I just skip the meal anyway because ordering out is not satisfying to me.
So damn it, made him a take away style tortellini with spinache and ricotta, shrimp (out of the freezer) and cream with fresh herbs, and on top mozzarella out of the oven, then salmon filet on skin out of a skillet, in compound butter on young salad leaves with a mildly sweet and sour garlic vinaigrette. This is cheaper than the 15€ take away. Took me half an hour, but I am a trained chef.
I do freeze prepared meals though, but I say fresh food over anything else. I certainly don't buy any prefab from the supermarket, mostly. I did cheat on the tortelinni.
