Do you need help with your daily life due to illness, disability or old age? Such as assistance with housework or help with transportation? Or do you need an aid? For example, a wheelchair or a stair elevator at home? The municipality can help you through the Wmo (Social Support Act). To do this, you must file a Wmo notification.

Who is the Wmo for?

The Wmo is there for people in need of extra help. For example, for the elderly, people with a disability, chronic illness or psychosocial problems. They will have to rely more often on society and professionals to continue to participate as much as possible. Furthermore, social care, addiction policy and combating domestic violence and child abuse also fall under the Wmo.

What should you arrange yourself and what can the municipality arrange?

When providing help through the Wmo, the municipality first looks at what you can do yourself. Unfortunately, the municipality cannot solve all your problems. However, the municipality will help you as much as possible to get on with your daily life and continue to participate in society. You will receive the help and care that is really needed.

Help you can arrange for yourself

  • Minor modifications to your home, for example, a raised or lowered toilet. 
  • Simple assistive devices such as glasses, canes, walkers or wall braces.
  • Assistive devices that can be temporarily borrowed from a home care store such as bed risers, a postal chair, crutches or a shower chair.
  • A high/low bed. Check with your health insurance company for this.
  • A corset. You can buy this yourself. Do you have supplementary insurance? Then you may be reimbursed for part of the cost. Ask your health insurance company about this.
  • Orthotics/prostheses. You can buy these yourself. Do you have supplementary insurance? Then you may be reimbursed for part of the costs. Ask your health insurance company about this.
  • Rehabilitation. Contact your health insurance company for this.
  • Home nursing or personal care. Contact your health insurance company for this.
  • Medical expenses. You must pay these yourself. Do you have supplementary insurance? Then you may be reimbursed for part of the costs. Please contact your health insurance company.
  • Your health insurance deductible. You must pay this yourself.
  • Meals. You can arrange this yourself, for example through Apetito or Palet Welzijn. You can also check the Zoetermeerwijzer | meal providers.
  • Grocery shopping. You can have groceries delivered to your home or use a grocery delivery service. More information can be found on the website: Zoetermeerwijzer | grocery assistance.
  • Get a buddy. A buddy is a volunteer who helps you occasionally or has a chat with you. You can find more information on the website: Zoetermeerwijzer | buddy projects.
  • Help with administration and money matters. Guidance for keeping your records. And help if you are in debt. You can find more information at: Help with money matters and debts.
  • Personal alarms. Do you live independently and want to get help quickly in case of an emergency? Then you can use a personal alarm. This is a small alarm transmitter that you can wear around your neck or wrist. More information can be found on the website: Zoetermeerwijzer | Personenalarmering. Do you need a personal alarm for a medical reason? Please contact your health insurance company. More information can be found on the government website | Care and support at home.

Are you really unable to solve your problems yourself? Then you can ask the municipality to help. To do so, you must file a Wmo notification.

Arranging with the municipality

  • Household help. For cleaning in your home.
  • Residential Facilities. For adaptations in your home. For example, a stair elevator.
  • Wheelchair Facilities. For assistive devices such as a (children's) wheelchair.
  • Assistance with transportation. For short distances (mobility scooter) or longer distances (Regiotaxi).
  • Individual counseling. An attendant to help you be and stay more independent.
  • Day care. To make your days meaningful. Or to practice working.
  • Informal care support. Consider help and advice with caregiving, organizing care, temporarily transferring care and caring for yourself.
  • Short-term institutional stay. For people who are cared for at home by a family caregiver and cannot be home alone. The person needs 24-hour supervision and/or care. In short-term stay, a person stays in an institution for up to 72 hours a week, relieving the family caregiver for a while.
  • Protected and assisted living. This is living in a care facility. Or living with the help of care workers.

Step-by-step plan to apply for help or aid Wmo:

Review the following steps to apply for help or aid Wmo.

Step 1 > First, see what you can do yourself

Do you need help in your daily life? Often a solution is close at hand. Usually family, friends, acquaintances and neighbors can give you the help you need. Also take a look at the website Zoetermeerwijzer. On this website you will find more information about solutions to your request for help.

Sometimes you can buy or borrow an aid yourself that will make your daily life easier. Also, always ask if your health insurance might cover the help. You do not need the municipality for that.

Step 2 > Make Wmo notification

You can file a Wmo notification in 3 ways:

Personal plan writing

Are you making a Wmo notification? Then you can choose to write a personal plan. A personal plan explains what you can and cannot do and what you need help with. Please note! A personal plan is different from a plan for a personal budget.

Making a personal plan is not mandatory. The pdf document below has all the information for creating a personal plan. You can also choose to make your own personal plan.

Information for creating a personal plan (pdf)

Step 3 > Wmo notification done, then what?

At this time, unfortunately, the processing of your Wmo notification is taking longer than expected. We are doing our best to help you as soon as possible.

The municipality calls you after your notification. An appointment is made for an interview (the 'kitchen table interview'). Sometimes this conversation is on the phone and sometimes a Wmo employee comes to your home. During the meeting the municipality will discuss with you what is needed. Family members or client supporters may also be present at this meeting.

The conversation will include:

  • Your personal situation.
  • Your request for help.
  • What you can do yourself.
  • What people around you can do for you.

Step 4 > Apply for Wmo assistance or tool

Does the municipality recommend help or an aid? Then the Wmo employee will work with you to apply for the aid or resource. So a Wmo notification does not automatically mean that you will also receive help or an appliance.

Step 5 > Paying for the aid or device

Are you getting help or an aid through the Wmo? Then you can get it in 2 ways:

  • Care in kind (Zin). You get help from a provider with whom the municipality has a contract.
  • Personal Budget (PGB). You arrange everything yourself.

You also always pay a monthly co-payment. You can find more information on the page Personal budget and Care in kind.

Other information:

More information or questions about the Wmo.

You have help or a tool and you have a question about it

See who to contact with which question:

Ask your healthcare provider:

  • Complaints or questions about the assistance provided.
  • Replacing your help during illness or vacation.
  • The times your help comes.
  • Overview of assistance provided.
  • Your support plan.

Questions for the congregation:

  • Change in your situation.
  • Extension of household assistance.
  • The quality of the aid or resource provided.
  • Complaints about your provider.
  • Switching providers.

Cancel Wmo help or aid

When not using

Do you no longer need the device? Then you can cancel it yourself.

  • Fill in the form: Wmo assistance request or tool cancellation.
  • Please indicate what tool you have and why you want to cancel it.
  • You will receive a letter about discontinuing your aid.
  • If necessary, a staff member will contact you to make further arrangements.

When moving

Are you moving to another municipality? If so, you must inform your Wmo counselor in time.

  • Contact your Wmo counselor.
  • You will discuss with him/her whether you may take the device with you or must return it.
  • Did you buy a device with a personal budget (PGB) or allowance? If so, you may have to repay part of the amount.

In the event of death

If the death is processed in the Basic Registration of Persons (BRP) then the right to the device stops. The supplier of the device contacts the next of kin. An appointment will be made to pick up the device.

Do you, as a survivor, still want to cancel the aid yourself in advance? Then please use the form: Wmo aid request or cancel aid.

Independent client support

Do you have questions about care, housing, work, education or parenting? Then an independent client supporter can think along with you. They know what help is available and know the laws and rules. They can also mediate in case of complaints and problems with the municipality or care providers.

For example, they can help you by:

  • Making your request for help clear.
  • To help if you want to file a complaint.
  • Seeking the right help.
  • Making an appointment or going with you to an appointment.

The client supporters work at Adviespunt Zorgbelang and not at the municipality or a health care provider. The client supporters listen, think with you and advise. They have a duty of confidentiality. The help is free of charge. Young people can also contact the client supporters.

For more information, visit the website of Adviespunt Zorgbelang.

Useful links

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