A step-by-step guide to support Amsterdammers in debt restructuring towards financial resilience.
Debt assistance service in Amsterdam is there to help the inhabitants with significant debts get back on track. Currently, support ends as soon as a debt restructuring agreement is reached. However, this is precisely when a difficult period begins for the individual. The City of Amsterdam has asked us to help give this phase an appropriate form. What do Amsterdammers need during this period? And how can we help debt counselors provide that support?
Debt assistance has focused for years on arranging debt settlements, but for Amsterdammers this is often just the beginning. The period in which they are 'in the arrangement' is tough and requires more than just financial agreements. Amsterdammers need clarity and coaching. They need to be supported in a different way. This requires the aid workers to make a shift, but it also gives us the opportunity to design effective interventions that truly make a difference.
The Doorstart is a step-by-step guide for counselors to support Amsterdammers with a debt arrangement. The new name (Doorstart) provides a positive framework. Together with the neighborhood teams, we are developing tools to offer support in conducting the right conversations during all contact moments in the Doorstart phase.
The Doorstart is a step-by-step plan and a toolkit filled with resources for support professionals who coach Amsterdammers through their debt arrangement. The concept introduces a (partially) new role: the doorstart coach. This person takes on a different role than that of traditional debt assistance workers.
It is important for Amsterdammers to be able to make a fresh start after their arrangement has been made. That’s why they are transferred to a doorstart coach, who supports them using the step-by-step plan. This plan outlines a series of essential contact moments between the coach and the Amsterdammer, offering guidance on how to structure those conversations.
These conversations are designed to meet the needs of Amsterdammers at that stage of the process and are based on behavioral science insights. In addition, we have developed tools to support these conversations, such as visual conversation cards and brochures. These help Amsterdammers reflect, set goals, or bring up obstacles they face in daily life.
The goal of the step-by-step plan and its accompanying tools is to give doorstart coaches (and other support professionals) the flexibility to provide tailored support. They are free to repeat or adapt the conversations as they see fit and to use the tools in whatever way best fits the situation.
Our design for this new form of assistance has now been incorporated into the new policy plan “Beyond Debt – Debt Assistance 2025–2028” of the City of Amsterdam. The team at the City of Amsterdam is continuing to work hard on implementing the Doorstart program within the neighborhood teams.
