Federal government pulls funding for winter shelters

Federal minister for asylum and migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA) has decided to discontinue support for the Cold Weather Plan for Belgian cities, which provides extra accommodation for the homeless during winter.

Public social welfare centres (CPAS) in cities such as Ghent, Antwerp, Charleroi and Liège previously received an annual sum of €65,000 each, Bruzz reports.

In Brussels, where homelessness is especially high and increasing sharply, the removal of this funding sparked outrage.

“The majority of people sleeping on the streets of Brussels are asylum seekers and therefore the responsibility of minister Van Bossuyt,” Brussels mayor Philippe Close (PS) said in a reaction to the news, accusing the federal government of “treating Brussels like a dustbin”.

Close is asking the minister to consult with the major cities, saying that “under [previous] state secretary Nicole De Moor (CD&V), there was at least a dialogue between the federal government and the major cities”.

The homeless population in Brussels sat at about 10,000 people in November 2024, an increase of 25% compared to the previous count in 2022. In 2008, when the number of homeless people was first recorded, there were about 1,700.

Social welfare organisations note that due to difficulties in counting this population, the actual number is likely much higher.

The impact of erasing €65,000 from the budget for homeless shelters in Brussels is not yet clear but Samusocial, Belrefugees and the Red Cross - organisations that provide emergency shelter for homeless people in Brussels - emphasised that the measure will not affect their operations.

“We don’t depend on that funding, but the measure will have an impact on the sector as a whole,” said Mehdi Kassou of Belrefugees.

“Since this summer, we have seen week after week that more homeless people are sleeping on the streets. All shelters have been full for some time now. Whether it's our own centres, those of Samusocial or the Red Cross, there is no room anywhere. We’re wondering how we can tackle this in the coming months.”

Kassou fears that the homeless problem will only get worse in Brussels in the coming months as a result of other federal measures, for example, a decision from Van Bossuyt to no longer provide shelter to asylum seekers who have already been granted protection elsewhere in the EU.

The stricter asylum rules have already led to an increase in the number of people coming to Samusocial. Since the beginning of this month, the organisation has had to turn away 400 families due to a lack of capacity.

“Federal asylum and migration policy is creating homeless people,” Kassou said.

“Despite various court rulings, the federal government continues to send families with children out on to the streets. Cutting the €65,000 subsidy is a symbolic measure, but in this difficult context, every euro counts.”

Brussels-City CPAS said it would “take responsibility” if the Brussels Region fails to implement the Cold Weather Plan, according to chairman David Weytsman (MR).

Weytsman said the provision of shelter for homeless people is unequivocally a regional responsibility.

“Each level of government must finance its own powers,” said Weytsman.

“The federal coalition agreement is clear: the federal government finances federal policy, the regions finance regional policy. The Cold Weather Plan unambiguously falls under regional powers.”

Weytsman believes it is the responsibility of the Brussels region to come up with the €65,000 in missing funds, “but if the current caretaker government refuses to take responsibility, I want to reassure the associations and beneficiaries: the CPAS of the City of Brussels will ensure that the plan is implemented in an equivalent manner within its territory.”

Weytsman said minister Van Bossuyt would soon visit the CPAS to familiarise herself with the workings of the institution and expressed a desire to help her intensify the voluntary return of asylum seekers to their countries of origin and, together with the federal government, introduce more efficient deportation mechanisms.

“Brussels cannot bear this burden alone,” said Weytsman.