The current wet weather conditions significantly increase the hardships for the homeless in the country, warn multiple non-profits for the homeless.
“Rain is worse than the cold,” says director Philip De Buck, who observes an unusual increase in attendance at the non-profit association L’Îlot.
“People arrive early in the morning, soaked, with clothes needing washing and an urgent need for hot showers. We have so many people right now that we can’t provide these basic necessities to everybody,” explains De Buck.
Other similar organisations highlight the dire impact of the intermittent heavy rains. "The patron of our non-profit, actress Elina Dumont, who spend 12 years on the streets, says that being wet is the worst thing that can happen when you’re homeless. Worse than being hungry or cold," recalls Laurent d’Ursel, the co-founder of the Brussels non-profit DoucheFLUX that fights against homelessness.
This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the current weather conditions fall outside of the season of the Winter Plan. "In winter, there are structures, resources. When it ends, there are much fewer accommodations. People are put back on the street," says Samuel Fuks, head of non-profit Bulle, which provides a roving laundry service for the street population.
"This is a weather situation that puts everything on hold, anaesthetising all administrative actions for these individuals. It contributes to the entrenched state of homelessness," adds L’Îlot in a statement today.
However, be it rain, cold or heatwave, extreme weather conditions always have repercussions on the homeless. According to the collective Deaths on the Street (Collectief Straatdoden), as many homeless people die in the summer as in the winter in Brussels. "Continued and sustained action is necessary to protect the most vulnerable in our society," L’Îlot reminds.
