Belgium’s Buildings Agency has identified about 30 public buildings that could be used to temporarily expand winter shelter capacity for homeless people, Minister Vanessa Matz said on Friday, urging municipalities and CPAS public welfare centres expecting extra demand to come forward now.
This year, the aim is no to longer wait for a need to arise before looking for a case-by-case solution, but rather to have a clear overview in advance of buildings that could be mobilised if a municipality or CPAS submits a request, the minister said.
“It is not acceptable for people to be sleeping rough when we have public buildings that could, in some cases, be brought into use,” Matz said. “It is our responsibility to examine every available solution and prevent human tragedies.”
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The identification exercise has uncovered around 30 buildings across the country’s regions, mainly in major cities.
Most of the buildings are currently earmarked for sale, but the options identified will be assessed individually with municipalities and CPAS according to local needs and the characteristics of each site.
Matz said last winter had shown that some public buildings could help frontline organisations increase shelter capacity in Liège and Brussels.
The government now wants to move from a reactive approach to a proactive one, she said, noting that several dozen buildings had been identified across the country and again calling on municipalities and CPAS with needs to make themselves known now.
Last winter, two federal buildings were already used in Liège and Brussels to provide additional accommodation.
