According to the account, 64-year-old Pieter Willems could no longer afford his high rent after a series of setbacks and ended up homeless. He collected items from a store in Cuijk to deposit money, so he could buy food and spend the night on benches in the city. Willems was due to demonstrate with others in Amsterdam on Saturday against the housing shortage. He said that homelessness could happen to anyone and described himself as merely surviving.