IN FOR CARE TURNHOUT

Goal

The aim is to create more solidarity in the vulnerable neighborhood around Turnhout station.

The city of Turnhout has already taken several steps to develop neighborhood activities around the Merodelei and the Merodecenter to strengthen social cohesion. Various initiatives have already been realized, such as a toy library, the setting up of the neighborhood group 't Geburt, activities such as coffee and papers, etc.

In order to focus on strengthening social cohesion and quality of life in the neighborhood, it is important to know the situation. That is why a neighborhood analysis is being drawn up. This provides a clear picture of the vulnerable groups, but also of the opportunities and starting points in the station area.

The focus is on meeting, bringing out the talents of local residents and strengthening small helping in the neighborhood.

Our role

Quantitative neighborhood analysis

Vonk3 conducted a quantitative neighborhood analysis with figures from the Provinces in Figures, the IMA Atlas and Datawarehouse. They examined figures about demography, care and health and the socio-economic profile. From this quantitative neighborhood analysis, they conclude that the station neighborhood is a neighborhood with a high population density. The most common vulnerable groups are people living alone, the elderly, people with a low socio-economic status (SES) and people with a migration background.

Qualitative neighborhood analysis

In the qualitative neighborhood analysis, they conducted an in-depth interview with 15 vulnerable local residents. They asked them questions about how they view their neighborhood, what they like to do, what concerns them, whether they know 't Geburt... This shows that the needs, interests, activities, view of the neighborhood and neighborhood activities 't Geburt, differ depending on some characteristics of vulnerability.

We can divide these into three groups:

• The participants with a high SES with limited mobility and need for social contacts. This mainly concerns single women who are retired. This group knows 't Geburt, but does not feel attracted to go there.
• The participants with a low SES no longer feel at home in their neighborhood. They live in poverty and spend a lot of time in their neighborhood. 't Geburt is also known among this group. They believe that the activities are mainly aimed at people with a migration background.
• Finally, participants with a migration background still have to meet their basic needs. They often live in poverty. Their age is significantly lower than the other two groups. They live in a parallel network and have never heard of 't Geburt.

The recommendations are inspired by the five key principles of strong social work and focused on the local context in the Turnhout station area. Proximity, generalist social work and connecting work are the central recommendations.