To say that Pauline was surprised is an understatement, rather stunned when she heard Mayor Stemerdink say her name. The Voorschoten native is the initiator and co-founder of Villa Voorschot, which celebrated its 10th anniversary on Saturday afternoon. A great opportunity for a medal and Pauline was appointed Knight in the Order of Orange Nassau.
“But I didn’t do it alone,” Pauline quickly exclaimed. “My husband Marcus, family, friends, they all helped.” That was true, but Pauline got things rolling. The supporters of the application for a medal called her ‘tireless, involved and dedicated’.
The adventure started 15 years ago. Pauline was looking for a place for her multiply handicapped son with autism. “He was a young adult and wanted to leave home just like everyone else, but living alone was of course not an option.” So Pauline thought she would build it herself. She got to work with a large group of parents. She negotiated with the municipality, found a housing corporation that could take over the land from the municipality, brought in ASVZ to supervise the residents, looked for and found sponsors and on 20 June 2015 Villa Voorschot opened its doors, a small-scale residential and work location for 16 young adults where living, working, supervision, care and social entrepreneurship came together.
Pauline was chair of the board from the start, after seven years she became an advisor. Since July 2022, Pauline has been chair of the Care Committee at Stichting Voorschot. She was involved in setting up the committee and introduced the committee to healthcare institution ASVZ, the supervisors and parents of the residents and those involved outside the foundation. Last year, the board was commissioned to put together a project group 'Complete Package Home'.
In this setup, living and working, Villa Voorschoten was quite unique in the Netherlands. Even then Prime Minister Mark Rutte came by to hear more about the project. Pauline also used her knowledge and experience in the board of Stichting Hethuis in Leidschendam. A living and working place for 18 young adults with multiple disabilities was opened there in 2021. Pauline also founded Stichting Dienstverlening Ouderinitiatieven (SDOI). Parental initiatives are small-scale residential facilities (such as Villa Voorschot and Hethuis), set up by parents for their disabled children. She was and is also active as a mediator in conflicts within parental initiatives, and she is a member of the complaints committee of the SDOI.