Namur night shelters saw 70% occupancy this winter

The average night shelter occupancy rate was 70% this winter in Namur, meaning ample bed spaces for those in need, according to the local government. Two places to find accommodation were made available to persons in difficulty: one on the Boulevard du Nord and the other in Rue Mottiaux à Jambes, a total of 63 beds with one additional place for persons of reduced mobility. Nobody was turned away due to a lack of beds when the shelters opened between November 1 and March 31. 
 
In total, 816 persons in difficulty used the two night shelters during the winter plan period, 185 of them for the first time (against 238 in 2017-2018 when it was colder).
 
Men were broadly in the majority, making no less than 89.8% of requests. In terms of age, the most numerous were those in the 40-44 (15.9%) and 35-40 (15.3%) age groups, followed by young people of 18-24 (14%) and 24-30 year olds (13,8%). Ironically, emergency shelters have experienced an increase in use during the months of February and March, which were milder than the previous.
 
At the same time, the social emergency system clocked up no less than 2,178 interventions. The requests mainly involved administrative assistance (40.4%), accommodation (31.9%) and facilities (31.9%).
 
Mobile street teams carried out 1,799 interventions concerning 688 persons.
 
Finally, the health relay intervened on 2,289 occasions, catering to 1,034 persons.
 
The Brussels Times