Brussels authorities have already activated an 'Extreme Cold' plan for homeless people on Monday. Now they have agreed to extend the plan and increase reception capacity to better meet the needs of those facing freezing temperatures.
Working with local organisations and government departments, the Bruss'help group will increase the number of places available under the plan – which made 145 emergency places available to homeless people across the Capital Region in addition to the existing annual plan of 5,045 places.
"These additional places were quickly taken up. In light of the urgency of the situation, Bruss'help consulted those working in the field to increase reception capacity and provide accommodation for people still on the streets," Eva Salman, spokesperson for Bruss'help, confirmed to The Brussels Times.
From Thursday, 30 additional places for single women and families will be activated within the Ukrainian Voices scheme in Schaerbeek – bringing the total number of places dedicated to this group from 25 to 55. An extra 88 places will also be activated for single men at the Red Cross centre in Anderlecht, increasing the total capacity for homeless men from 120 to 208 places.
263 extra places
The other measures that were previously announced – such as STIB allowing homeless people in public areas of metro stations overnight and SNCB opening up Brussels Midi station at night – remain unchanged.
Etterbeek mayor Vincent De Wolf (MR) also issued a police order obliging homeless people on the municipality's territory to be sheltered. This means that those sleeping rough can be taken to shelters by police – even against their consent (unless they will go to a shelter of their own accord).
With the 30 extra places made available for single women and families and the addition of 88 places for single men, the 'Extreme Cold' scheme will now have a total of 263 emergency places to keep homeless people out of the cold. "Communal initiatives, such as the extra places created in Etterbeek, are not counted in the 'Extreme Cold' plan, so they still come on top of that number," Salman explained.
On Tuesday morning, the body of a homeless man, who likely died of hypothermia, was found on Rue Gray in the Brussels municipality of Ixelles.
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In less than ten years, the number of homeless people has more than doubled in Brussels, according to the Ilôt non-profit organisation that fights against homelessness. Over 7,000 homeless people currently live in the Capital Region alone, and about 25% of them are children.
"For the rest of the country, the number of homeless people is estimated in the tens of thousands," said Ariane Dirickx, director of Ilôt, earlier this week. "For several years, politics was limited to managing homelessness rather than fighting the phenomenon."
Over the coming days, Bruss'help will coordinate the opening of these extra places and monitor any developments. "The plan has been activated for one month – until 8 February. After that, we will monitor developments to see if the plan needs to be extended beyond that."
