A former police station – a nearly 2,500m² building – in the Brussels municipality of Schaerbeek has been thoroughly renovated and converted into a new regional shelter for homeless families.
The reception centre is located close to the main traffic axes in the northwest of the Capital Region, making it easily accessible both to the target group as well as to the social workers assisting them. The building now has 28 rooms with one to four places per room, giving it a total accommodation capacity of 89 people.
"This new centre also focuses on the needs of families and women who become victims of intra-family violence, making it more than welcome given the humanitarian crisis we have been experiencing for several years," said Brussels Minister-President Rudi Vervoort. "Although, of course, we hope that one day this kind of structure will be redundant."
The building was in poor condition and had already been put to temporary use several times, making a heavy renovation necessary to enable the relocation of Samusocial's staff and residents temporarily housed in the Gulledelle building in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. Now that the time has come, Samusocial can offer its public high-quality care and services in a brand-new building with numerous facilities.
24/7 support
For Brussels Welfare Minister Alain Maron, the official opening of the new Samusocial post is a concrete illustration of several important points of attention. "Firstly, the importance of having quality infrastructure on a human scale, and secondly, the special attention for homeless families, especially those with very young children."
Maron also underlined the importance of having 24/7 support, so each adult and child can be guided individually: going to school, putting administrative matters in order and finding a sustainable solution when leaving the centre.
Now, the building holds a number of sanitary facilities (19 showers and 15 toilets), a kitchen with a dining hall, a library/game library, a laundry room, a room for prams, two multipurpose rooms, an infirmary, a reception area to welcome the public, and several office spaces.
The works also focused on improving the building's energy performance, including the installation of a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system, a completely new electrical installation and LED lighting.
The centre will "enable us to guide women in vulnerable situations on their way to regaining their autonomy," said Schaerbeek mayor Cécile Jodogne. "I believe this will be the first step towards a new life for them and their children. It is important that all actors involved support initiatives such as these, as the stakes are high, especially now that our region is facing a reception crisis."
The opening of the new family centre in Schaerbeek is part of the process that Samusocial started almost four years ago to improve the quality of reception. "The centre's limited accommodation capacity (89 places) testifies to our ambition to work with people-sized structures," said Sébastien Roy, General Manager of Samusocial.
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The spaces are designed to offer families with children reception adapted as best as possible to their needs: there is a pre-kindergarten playroom, a homework room with a library, an infirmary and social permanence, he explained.
"We want to be able to offer a safe shelter to prevent – as much as possible – families having to go to emergency shelter, but also to provide adapted and effective guidance towards solutions to get away from the streets. This is one of our fundamental objectives as the number of homeless families continues to increase."
