LOCAL CONTEXT THE NETHERLANDS The recent COVID-19 pandemic has affected a lot of people in the whole world. The Netherlands is no exception to this. Even with their initial ‘intelligent lockdown’ in which the country’s package of measures looked relatively relaxed compared to other European countries like Belgium, Italy or France, negative socio-economic consequences have supplanted the initial optimism of the Dutch. Unfortunately, in every crisis, it is the most vulnerable groups in a society that feel the impact the most. (1) The focus of the government was mainly on the number of infections and the number of patients. Next to that, they wanted to make sure that the economy of the country would not be hit too hard. However, other aspects, such as loneliness, mental health and social assistance/work were not on the top of their mind. Suddenly, for a long and unsure time, social workers had to rethink their way of staying in contact with their (mostly vulnerable) client as their help is mainly based on proximity and face-to-face contact. (2) Working from home, on online platforms like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, and social distancing became the norm and was presented as something that was applicable for everyone in the Dutch society. In reality, social workers felt as if these general rules were not fitting for their clients or for their work. Not finding the right answer from the government and pressured by the feeling of not wanting to lose time, they had to reinvent themselves quickly online. The last two years, they have been gone by like on autopilot. Online help as well as other short-term solutions were sometimes comforted by incidental financial aid from the government. Another typical Dutch thing that played a role into the social workers having to take matters into their own hands is the general tendency of individual autonomy and self-reliance. It is a tendency that is fueled by their liberal ways and that makes that authorities will not implicate themselves easily. It’s all about general rules and trusting the citizens to find their own way with it. (3) As it feels as if the pandemic is coming to an end, social workers are finally able to breathe again. At the same time, there is a general feeling in their field that they must structurally rethink their work. Not only to walk away from the sole dependency on physical presence, but also to be better prepared if another crisis or pandemic will come our way. Both education and practice are already suiting the action to the word and taking initiative. (4) In this they are also looking at developing new (and fun!) competencies in social work. (5) It is in this search that the knowledge of organizations such as Storytelling Centre and Loesje Berlin might come in handy. --------------------------------(1) https://www.rivm.nl/en/news/covid-19-consequences-impact-vulnerable-groups-more-in-long-term (2) https://sociaal.net/verhaal/birsen-taspinar-hulpverlening-in-tijden-van-pandemie/ (3) https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20211203-dutch-covid-surge-fuelled-by-liberal-ways-say-experts (4) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02615479.2020.1823363 (5) https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02615479.2020.1823363
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