200 new beds opened to Brussels homeless

The Brussels agency for the homeless, Samusocial, was able to open its doors to 200 extra people seeking a bed last night, after federal asylum minister Maggie De Block opened up a new building as a homeless shelter. The organisation had to turn away 166 people the previous evening because of lack of space, said Christophe Tielens of Samusocial.

As reported earlier this week, De Block had been blamed for failing to keep a promise to provide more places for the homeless, resulting in about 200 people still sleeping rough as temperatures dropped. The shortage came after the closure of centres for asylum-seekers forced them onto the streets, adding to the homeless numbers.

Now De Block has opened up a building in Brussels originally intended for winter shelter, but which had been occupied by Afghan refugees. At the same time, the Communal Community Commission (GGC) agreed to make €500,000 available for the provision of winter shelters. The first 50 beds based on that funding opened last night in a Belgacom building in the Elsene district.

The additional funding brings the total number of GGC available beds for homeless people in the capital to 600, with a further 350 places provided by the federal government. The GGC also promised an additional €500,000 budget, but that was good for only 50 new places, Tielens said, as only €100,000 would be immediately available. 

photo courtesy BuzzFarmers/Flickr Commons