The Corona dent in debt counseling is over. This spring, nearly 4,000 people in debt turned to the community for help. This puts the number of registrations in April, May and June at around the same level as at the beginning of 2020. More and more nurses are concerned whether there are enough staff to look after all these people.

The figures come from the debt relief umbrella organization NVVK. “And we’re still seeing an increase in inflows in recent months,” says Hans van der Meulen, director of Kredietbank Nederland, which offers debt relief in 84 municipalities.

In April, May and June of 2020, around 900 people signed up for debt relief every month. In June 2022, the number of registrations was 1400. “The main reason for this increase is that the Corona support measures were lifted,” says Van der Meulen. “They caused registrations to be postponed.”

Capacity concerns

At the moment there are still enough staff to support the new people seeking help. But meanwhile 30 percent of the debt counselors are thinking about capacities, according to the quarterly monitor of the NVVK. With the previous monitor it was still 15 percent.

“We have great problems recruiting experienced employees,” says Van der Meulen. There are also gaps because experienced debt counselors can easily find work elsewhere. “It is difficult to fill these positions. We are training more and more inexperienced people.”

So far, this has not resulted in people in debt not being helped. “That doesn’t work either. If people still get in touch after years, they need immediate help,” says Van der Meulen. The result: the workload for emergency services increases.