Familiehulp is an association within the fold of the Christian Beweging.net, also known for the trade union ACV and the CM health insurance fund, but it is not a membership organization. They do have customers who receive various forms of home help from their 13,000 employees. They also have about fourteen daycare centers.
Who pays for all that? 86 percent of their budget comes from subsidies, i.e. from the government, and 14 percent comes from what customers pay. This personal contribution is income-related and can vary from 1 to 15 euros and more per hour.
“We assist people in daily life,” says Ann Demeulemeester. “We do tasks that they cannot do themselves because they have a disability, for example, or are still recovering from a procedure in the hospital. Many customers are over eighty, but we also offer maternity care. We all do that seven days a week, day and night. We also work on living quality, we can do adjustment work on houses so that people can live there longer. Or make a house more energy efficient. That’s why we have a ‘good living’ service.”
13,000 employees
With their 13,000 employees, Familiehulp is one of the largest employers in the country. That high number is necessary. “Most people would like to stay at home and go about their business. That must also more and more. The ‘socialization’ of healthcare, that is the trend. Where older people, people with a disability or serious illness, people undergoing rehabilitation or mental problems or vulnerable young people remain in a normal living environment as much as possible. We receive questions from all these target groups. We offer extra coaching for our employees for this purpose. How do you deal with someone with dementia? Or with cancer?”
The number of people with care needs is already increasing due to the aging population. “That will be one of the big challenges: finding enough employees and guiding people to our jobs through training. We are also committed to hybrid care, partly remotely. The customer then receives a computer tablet, if they are willing to learn to use it, and we can keep in touch with them between care sessions. Or we provide collective care, where people from a neighborhood come together somewhere and eat and receive support together.”
“Diversity is an everyday occurrence for us, for employees and for customers. If anyone has a problem with that, all I can say is that it is part of reality”
Ann Demeulemeester
Managing Director Family Assistance
Care sessions are an important weapon against loneliness. “There is a lot of loneliness among people and then home care becomes very important,” says Ann Demeulemeester. “At least they still see someone on a regular basis. More attention is really needed for this, for the connections between people. Sometimes our employees are the only person anyone sees anymore.”
Loneliness increases because there are fewer informal caregivers. “Or the children live further away. There are also more single elderly people. We also see loneliness among young people in underprivileged situations, whom we support. Or for people who are psychologically vulnerable and who still have to try to live independently.”
Too few cleaning assistants
Family help can still meet the demand reasonably well. “We only have waiting lists for the cleaning service in some regions. There are also too few cleaning helpers. We will also need many new healthcare professionals in the coming years due to the high outflow of retirees. We’re afraid of that. Our people enjoy working here and they stay with us for a long time. They can work independently, they receive a smartphone for this, and the customers are grateful to them. That gives satisfaction.”
These employees come from a hundred different countries. “Diversity is an everyday occurrence for us, for employees and for customers. If anyone has a problem with that, all I can say is that it is part of reality. You can’t deny that.”
“Furthermore, I do not make any political statements about migration. It is not the case that we import workers ourselves. We are committed to learning Dutch and the fight against discrimination. We are concerned with providing the right care, regardless of the background of the customer or employee. You will find people everywhere who enjoy working in healthcare and childcare.”
