“I didn’t know where to start,” says Jennifer from Chicago, based in Den Hague with her husband on short-term assignment. Jennifer, a journalist by profession, hasn’t found a suitable job in the Netherlands yet and felt  “like I was rattling around the house” on arrival.

“One of my husband’s colleagues suggested that I get in touch with ACCESS, an organisation which offers free help and advice for expats. I gave them a call and found it reassuring to speak to a woman who was in a similar position to me. She suggested that I follow a course in Dutch culture (called “ÄCCESSing Amsterdam”) and I did so. It gave me some focus as well as helping me to understand the Dutch better,” says Jennifer, who has since found a job.

As well as offering “ACCESSing Amsterdam” workshops, ACCESS runs anti-natal courses for expectant parents, anti-natal yoga, a breastfeeding workshop, baby massage and a course on what to expect from the Dutch healthcare system if you are planning on having children in the Netherlands.

“One of ACCESS's most popular products are baby courses, which are nearly always oversubscribed,” says ex-ACCESS volunteer Vicky Reynolds.  ACCESS's 'Babies and Toddlers' book gives a complete overview of the Dutch maternity healthcare system.  ACCESS publishes several other publications about life in the Netherlands which are available on the organisation's website. Among these is a popular calendar  which has a handy reference section along with useful phone numbers.

ACCESS's Amsterdam offices seem to be serving a slightly different international community from that in The Hague--particularly attracting more single people, couples without children and entrepreneurs who are coming to the Venice of the North without the safety net of an international organisation to help them with some of the basics of setting up in a new country. 

Japanese Helpdesk

Understanding the international community around Amsterdam led ACCESS to establish a Japanese Helpdesk to mirror the function of the English-speaking Helpdesk.  You phone the Japanese helpdesk on  the general ACCESS helpdesk number: 020 423 3217 or send an email to info@jhelpdesk.info.
 
Call the same number or send any general helpdesk queries via email to helpdesk-ams@access-nl.org.  ACCESS’s free helpdesk information services covers a range of queries, from help in sorting out a residence permit to finding a hairdresser.  One of the important functions of the Helpdesk is a counselling referral service.  ACCESS can refer people anonymously to a duty counsellor who will help them to find the right specialist counsellor in the right language for their specific issue.
 
Helping non-native English speakers
ACCESS receives regular queries from people who are not native English speakers and the organisation is happy to help people to find a language course in Dutch or English
 
Expat services

The organisation continues to build links with the Amsterdam City Council and is currently working closely with the Foreign Investment Office and the Topstad programme to develop services to help expats. An important initiative supported by Topstad is the Expatcenter, which offers a one-stop service to ‘Knowledge Migrants’ who live and work in the Amsterdam, Amstelveen, and, most recently, Almere and the Haarlemmermeer areas. It is a joint initiative of the city municipalities and Dutch Immigration Services (the IND) to bring together the legalisation procedure and information on all expat-related services into one centralised location.   Since February 2010, the Expatcenter has worked in partnership with ACCESS.  Several times a week, ACCESS volunteers are now present at the Expatcenter to help with the more daily challenges of the newly arrived expats; such as finding a doctor, obtaining a Dutch driver's license and education information.

“We provide immediate answers for all frequently asked questions,” says Anna Lysenko, Director of the Amsterdam office of ACCESS.
 

Alison Buike, a volunteer for ACCESS, works in the Expatcenter several times a week. She says that many people come in to the center completely overwhelmed.  Having just arrived, they are usually dealing with the major issues of the move and new job first.  The new expats have questions, but they are not yet specific.  Alison says she encourages them to take the ACCESS phone number or email address so they can contact her or another volunteer when they have had a chance to settle in.

“We answer questions about everything, from the basics of the OV-Chipkaart to how to sort out their lives!”  says Buike. who has answered questions as diverse as 'can a foreign TV can be used in the Netherlands?' to 'how to buy property as a newly arrived expat'.

Although the Expatcenter is mainly used by international companies and their highly skilled employees, walk-ins are also helped by the ACCESS staff.  ACCESS volunteer Sonia Titto observes that questions from these two groups seem to differ.  "Highly skilled migrants and their spouses are more likely to ask about volunteer opportunities and for information about activities to join that will make their arrival into their new country seem less 'foreign'.  The ‘walk-in’ expats tend to have more immediate concerns with questions over health insurance, public transportation and information about Dutch classes," she says.

Volunteers at ACCESS, who are a multi-cultural group, have all experienced the relocation process themselves.  This gives them an in-depth and personal knowledge of what the expatriates who visit the Expatcenter are going through and overall the partnership between the Expatcenter and ACCESS is a fantastic fit and proving to be a big success.

"ACCESS is in close contact with the international schools in Amsterdam and the area and other expatriate clubs and organisations," says Lysenko. "We take part in their events, providing information about ACCESS and its services. We also keep and develop ties with the international companies with significant number of foreign employees. We are also happy to help foreigners who come to the Netherlands for personal reasons and who do not have an employer to help them with the relocation process. We also get questions from those who have lived in this country for several years or more – especially if they face new challenges such as starting a family or looking for a job.

ACCESS is a not-for-profit organisation and has no permanent source of funding.  “We are constantly looking a ways to raise money to enable us to continue to offer our services.  One of the most important sources of funding for us comes from companies that sponsor us in exchange for help we offer to their customers and/or employees. We have a number of packages that we can offer to sponsors; In addition, we are always interested in talking to organisations about bespoke packages,” ACCESS publishes free-of-charge magazine for the English speaking community with the number of copies steadily going up. It provides information about places to go and things to do in the Netherlands, as well as the list of community events and ACCESS courses and workshops.