This Friday, the regional winter programme was opened by Samusocial, at the initiative of Celine Fremault and Pascal Smet, ministers of the Brussels Region Joint Community Commission (Cocom). 550 beds will be available at the Rue Royale unit, provided by Brussels CPAS, Samusocial's permanent centre and the family centre in Rue du Trône. Reception capacity will gradually be increased by the Winter Programme Coordinating Committee, which is made up of Cocom minister representatives, Brussels CPAS and Samusocial. In total, there will be over 1,100 beds that can be made available during the Winter Programme if the weather gets very cold.
'Winter centres' will be offering individuals a place to stay overnight only. Samusocial's permanent centre and the family centre will be offering 24h/7 residential places, mainly for families with children and anyone in need of a permanent shelter day and night.
People covered by the Winter Programme will be able to arrive in the evenings after booking their bed on a place on freephone 0800/99.340 from 2pm onwards. People deemed the most needy, however, in consultation with associations for the homeless will be entitled to a guaranteed space without having to make a phone booking first.
(Source: Belga)
