A “breakfast of solidarity” for homeless people was held by various associations at the Liège-Guillemins train station on Monday in an action organised after SNCB security agency Securail removed people who were sleeping overnight in the station’s car parks.
One of the organisers Benoît Lecoq explained that “we have between 40 and 50 people sleeping in the station” and demanded that “a concrete rehousing solution be found for them.”
He also stated that until a decision is made “we do not know where they will be sleeping." Another of the organisers Chantal Degee explained that “the station was a central gathering place, it will be complicated for these people to find something else.”
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Degee fears that “they will probably return to the city centre” which may lead to a resurgence of violence “when there is nothing in place to welcome them." Other volunteers fear that without an official structure to welcome those without a home, forcing them towards the more vulnerable areas in the city centre “could lead them to alcohol and drugs.”
A meeting to be held between activists and the mayor of Liège Willy Demeyer; civil organisations highlight the dire lack of beds: the city “only has 42 beds available in 600-people shelters.” They hope that their calls will be heard by the Walloon Government and in particular, the region’s Minister for Social Action Christie Morreale.
