Cheerful security guard welcomes everyone at WijWest Dichtbij

With a big smile, security guard Shurette Oleana is in WijWest Dichtbij, in the de Hoven shopping centre. A man with long dreads and a radio from which Bob Marley sounds, comes in for a moment to give him a box. A woman waves at him as she walks past the entrance. “Shurette is an atmosphere maker of WijWest Dichtbij”, say his colleagues. “If you want to know something, ask him, he knows everyone.”

The security guard, who meanwhile turns his hand to a garbage man walking past the shopping centre, is a year ago via Werkse! Started his job right after the opening of WijWest Dichtbij. At WijWest Dichtbij, every resident can walk in to ask for help. Seventeen organisations work together here.

Shurette thinks the work is fantastic. He distributes flyers, brings visitors to the right people for help and of course ensures that it is safe. “We really built it here from nothing. Very slowly you see that people gain confidence, dare to step inside and ask for help. We try to be as accessible as possible. Anyone can come in. There are no false promises and people are not sent from the cabinet to the wall. We do not guarantee that we solve problems, but we do guarantee that we listen and think along. That’s already worth a lot.”

Motivate people to ask questions
The security guard understands what people walk around with.” I used to be no easy boy. I grew up in the Schilderswijk in The Hague and was always outside. Many people from that time ended up in the neighbourhood here, when the houses in the Schilderswijk were demolished. I myself lived in the flat above the Hoven for a while, so I am a familiar face in the neighbourhood. That is also good for young people. They are slowly starting to find WijWest Dichtbij. It takes time before they really dare to ask a question. You’re not just going to ask for help from an authority, you don’t, you don’t want to be a loser, but you do run into the lamp in the meantime. When they see me here as a security guard, they are surprised and ask: “Hey Shurette, how did you do that? But if I can, so can they. That I’m standing here feels like motivation for people who have yet to take the first step.”

People keep coming in to hand out boxes and shake hands with Shurette. “Hey!” Shurette calls out to a woman walking by, “Don’t just walk past me!”. Laughing she comes in and also gives a box. “This is my former counsellor from Werkse!”, says Shurette. “I’m calling everyone in. Come by, even if it’s just for a chat and maybe we can help you with something.”