Street Nurses launch summer campaign to help the homeless

The Brussels and Liège-based homeless organisation Street Nurses (Infirmiers de rue/Staatverpleegers) has launched its summer campaign, ‘This summer: we laugh, we eat, we dance… and we give’.

For many, summer is a time of shared meals, parties and time spent outdoor, notes the organisation. For those living on the streets, however, soaring temperatures often result in isolation and fatigue due to lack of access to accommodation, shade and showers, it points out.

Driven by the concept of ‘a solidarity seat’, the campaign invites members of the public to organise a social event - such as a birthday party, a barbecue, a walk or a dinner – and to symbolically reserve a place at it for Street Nurses and the people it supports.

The idea is simple: participants create an online fundraising page through Street Nurses’ website, place the campaign’s QR code on the table or at the event venue, and invite their friends and family to make a donation of their choice.

Street Nurses’ decision to launch this community-wide initiative taps into the strong culture of communal gatherings that are synonymous with sunny summer days. “With this campaign, we want to suggest a simple gesture: enjoying these moments together, whilst supporting those who do not yet have a home to shelter in,” it explains.

The donations raised from this campaign will contribute towards the organisation’s grassroots work, helping them to continue providing nursing care and assistance for the homeless. Its ultimate goal is to help them find greater stability and long-term housing.

Since its founding in 2005, Street Nurses has supported homeless people who are particularly vulnerable due to their poor physical, mental or social health. It has helped to rehouse 232 of them while supporting a further 176 through long-term work placements.

Photo: ©Infirmières du rue