Residents of retirement home angry about booze ban

3 December 2024

In Maassluis, residents of the Oud Sluys, a retirement home, are as of December 1, only allowed to drink beer and wine in their communal daytime erea. Egg liquor, port and gin have been removed from the drinks menu. Senior Welfare runs the complex that is intended for independently living residents aged 55 and over.

At De Vloot, another Senior Welfare location, the manager stopped serving these drinks last april. The reason for this was that the alcohol consumption there was much higher than in other locations. The atmosphere was said to be unsafe due to that excessive alcohol consumption. The first 3 months of 2024, 19 reports of intimidating behaviour were made.

In line with the measure taken in De Vloot, Senior Welfare has decided to serve only beer and wine in Oud Sluys, although there were no unsafe situations due to alcohol serving. Senior Welfare did hope that the ban on certain drinks would ensure healthy ageing.

The seniors who live in Oud Sluys are angry about the measure. The residents protested with a glass egg liquor in their hands from their balconies, to which they hung hand-painted banners. Their photo got viral. They say that growing old healthily has to do with well-being and not feeling lonely. "And this communal erea provides that", says a resident.

In the meantime, the municipal council is meeting to discuss the ban. The college of mayor and aldermen has already announced that Senior Welfare draws up the house rules in these complexes. According to the college, the municipality is "only a subsidy provider".

It is unknown whether other resident homes have such bans. A spokesperson of Actiz, the umbrella organisation of retirement homes, indicates that institutions determine the rules in their common areas themselves.

Sources: gelderlander.nl, nos.nl en wos.nl.

Update: Thamar van der Poel, team leader at Senior Welfare, has indicated that the board decided that egg liquor will be back on the drinks menu.

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