The Economic, Social and Environmental Council of Wallonia (EESC) on Wednesday put forward a series of proposals and measures to develop a “real strategy” against homelessness in Wallonia in a report drawn up at its initiative.
The EESC opinion recommends that the Homelessness Observatory be given the required resources to better carry out its work. The EESC is also calling for intervention policies that are adapted to target groups and that a person-centred approach be developed.
In order to be more effective, both qualitative and quantitative data should be collected and analysed, and existing structures and innovative projects should be financially supported, the EESC believes.
Many issues underlie this problem, such as the multifaceted nature of homeless, the importance of a harmonised definition, recurrent counting and centralised data, and the need to implemented structural policies.
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Since 2020, thanks to the support of the King Baudouin Foundation, statistical data have been compiled on homelessness in various cities in the country. Figures that show the variety of situations and the fact that high levels of homelessness remain a fairly new phenomenon in Wallonia.
According to local figures, 70% of the homeless in Wallonia are men and about 30% suffer from addiction problems. The vast majority of the homeless in Wallonia are of Belgian nationality.
