Homeless population in Brussels expected to rise another 25%, agency says

Melike Pala

The number of homeless people in Brussels is expected to rise by another 25% when the Belgian capital’s next homelessness count is carried out in October, with a growing number of families among those experiencing homelessness, according to Bruss’help.

Bruss’help, the coordinating agency for homelessness assistance in Brussels, will conduct its ninth count across the Brussels-Capital Region on the night of Oct. 15-16, alongside similar operations in Flanders and Wallonia, news portal BRUZZ reported on Monday.

The previous count, conducted two years ago, identified 9,777 homeless people in Brussels, representing a 25% increase from the previous count.

Bruss’help said signs from frontline services already point to a further rise in homelessness.

“The signals on the ground are clear: we have to refuse emergency shelter to more and more people,” Adele Pierre of Bruss’help said, adding that the number of families seeking assistance is also increasing.

More young people could also be counted among Brussels’ homeless population, according to the agency.

Pierre said the planned elimination by the federal government of 1,000 reception places under the Brussels Deal could already be contributing to the situation.

“Those places were indeed filled, but because the responsible minister is providing accommodation to fewer asylum seekers, Brussels is facing more homeless people,” Pierre said.

Previous data showed that around one-quarter of people in emergency shelters had been homeless for more than two years, while one in 10 was a single mother with children.

About one-quarter did not have a residence permit.