There Goes My Heart plot
At the end of 1999, the Seniorenpand was opened in Rotterdam, the first (and so far only) 'retirement home for junkies' in the Netherlands. An initiative of Bouman Addiction Care to give some of the oldest addicts a roof over their heads, after a life on the street and on dope. The seven residents, aged 53 to 67, were given their own room in a separate wing of an ordinary old people's home. It is their 'safe haven'. The place where they want to die. Four men and three women live in the building. They all still use hard drugs. The highlight is the weekly payday: every Thursday morning they can take part of their allowance to buy dope. They spend most of their time inside the building, in their room or walking down the hallway. The pivot in their daily life is the regular care provider who - in addition to food and drink - provides them with medicines and their weekly money to buy drugs. Contact with family is sporadic, only occasionally a son or daughter comes to visit. The Seniorenpand is not a rehab center, but intended to provide junkies with a lifelong addiction a peaceful old age.