Deputy Yvonne Turenhout has 5 million euros annually for social policy. How will she spend this money?

This different approach means, among other things, that more attention is paid to the well-being of people with health problems and that the emphasis is less on care. Turenhout is very enthusiastic about residents’ initiatives such as those that have emerged in many Drenthe villages, such as Hollandscheveld and Grolloo. There the villagers assist each other with advice and assistance.

“We would like to support these types of initiatives,” Turenhout said on Tuesday when she presented the so-called social agenda of the provincial government. It contains all kinds of measures with which the province will promote equality of opportunity and health, combat poverty and promote broad prosperity.

Aging also positive

“Volunteer work is very important here,” says Turenhout. “An advantage of an aging population is that there are many people available for this. We often pretend that it is a disadvantage that more and more elderly people are coming, but all those seniors also have a lot of knowledge, experience and skills. They are very involved in their environment and motivated to get started.”

Turenhout has just over 5 million euros to spend annually on the social agenda. Of this, 2 million is fixed, the other 3 million can be spent on all kinds of things that benefit the broad prosperity in Drenthe.

The provincial government has been actively pursuing a social policy for about five years now. According to Turenhout, Drenthe is one of the few provinces that structurally makes money and manpower available for this. “Groningen also does this,” she says.

Municipalities

The background is that about ten years ago the provinces ceded many social tasks to the municipalities. Consider, for example, youth care. The municipality is also the appropriate authority in the field of debt assistance, help in finding work and support with household tasks for those who are unable to do so themselves.

These tasks can sometimes overwhelm municipal administrators and it is important that they work together and that the province also provides support in all kinds of areas, says Turenhout. “We can coordinate, so we also have money and can pass on what is going on at municipalities in The Hague.”

Regional deal

The latter led, among other things, to the Southeast Drenthe Regional Deal. The government transferred 30 million euros for this project, which has similar objectives and components as the social agenda. However, this also involves insulating and making homes more sustainable. Because the municipalities pay half of each project, 60 million euros becomes available for broad prosperity in the area.

It really is a long-term task to tackle the social disadvantages in the area, Turenhout knows. “That is why we urge the cabinet formation to continue with these kinds of things.”