In Zaandam-East, Nicole Simão of Pact Zaandam-East said she regularly saw families struggling to heat their homes because of low incomes, high energy costs or poor insulation. She described homes with damp and mold, children who no longer invited friends over and parents forced to choose between heating and food. Some families also faced respiratory problems and mental strain. Residents with middle incomes can also become affected after events such as illness, job loss or the death of a partner, she said.

Pact Zaandam-East brings residents, the municipality and organisations together, with experience experts helping people in financial difficulty find support and schemes they may be entitled to. Figures cited in the account put energy poverty in North Holland at about 91,000 households in 2024 and the national average at 6 percent; Zaanstad was among the municipalities above that average, with the problem concentrated in neighbourhoods including Poelenburg, Peldersveld and Hoorseveld. Simão urged people to seek help before their problems accumulated further.