HELPING STUDENTS THROUGH THE COLD

This autumn and winter we all experienced surging energy prices. For students, poor insulation of student houses makes these matters worse. Stijn Blaas (24) and Wessel Donkervaart (25) of Social Hub tackle this issue in the “ Helping students through winter ” project.

by Tjerk van der Weij

What is Social Hub?

The organisation Social Hub started during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lots of student initiatives were launched which often had a hard time in receiving funding. Social Hub can help out these initiatives by acting as a social incubator. If students have a cool idea, they can contact Social Hub and use their wellestablished network and close ties with the municipality.

How did this project start off?

The project to start insulating student houses began during a brainstorming session between the municipality and Social Hub about helping the citizens of Delft to get through the winter months. While already a lot of social housing was being insulated, students were still running behind. That is when Social Hub came in to play.

What is the main problem being tackled?

Stijn states students quite often end up in a quarrel with their landlords. As there is no financial or regulatory motive for landlords to invest in the insulation of student houses, hardly any action is taken. Stijn and Wessel are still finding out ways to engage landlords in this project and help students address their landlord about their moral obligation: to help with the insulation of houses and collaborate with