Samusocial forced to turn away homeless families and domestic violence victims

Brussels aid organisation Samusocial has said that it has had to turn away hundreds of families seeking shelter since the federal government enacted "the strictest asylum policy ever".

The association has seen an increase in the number of requests for emergency accommodation for families since the federal law on the withdrawal of material assistance for certain applicants for international protection came into force at the beginning of August.

“Since that date, we have had to refuse shelter to nearly 400 families, or about 1,500 people,” said Aude Khalfouni, head of the emergency shelter for families in Schaerbeek.

“Every day, we have to choose which families to take in and which to turn away. Last week, we had to ask a couple with their 18-month-old daughter to leave the centre.”

Khalfouni said that this was the only way that Samusocial could make room for another family with three young children who had been living on the streets for several days.

The federal government’s new, stricter policies aim to reduce the influx of asylum seekers arriving in the Belgian capital.

But due to cuts to the Fedasil reception network and the abolition of the premium for local reception initiatives (LOIs), there are fears of an increase in homelessness on the streets of Brussels and aid organisations warn that homeless asylum seekers are an easy target for drug gangs.

In response, federal minister for asylum and migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA) claimed that those who end up on the streets today as a result of the new asylum measures have made a conscious choice to do so.

“They chose to travel to Belgium, even though they were already receiving protection elsewhere in Europe or had had their asylum application rejected,” said Van Bossuyt.

Van Bossuyt said that any family with children or asylum seekers living on the streets “can choose to return voluntarily to their country of origin or the country responsible for them. In that case, they don’t need to turn to Samusocial or live on the streets.”

Van Bossuyt also stated that she expects aid organisations to “provide these people with honest information, namely that they have no future in Belgium and will have to return. Are they conveying that message?”

Samusocial said it had also been forced to refuse shelter to women victims of domestic violence with children due to a lack of resources.

A third of the women receiving shelter in the network are victims of domestic or intra-family violence.

“Some lose their right of residence when fleeing a violent partner and end up in extreme poverty as a result,” the organisation said.

“For many, Samusocial is the last safety net before they end up on the streets.”

The aid organisation normally tries to give priority to these applicants but has seen a striking rise in demand that it cannot keep up with.

“Today, due to a lack of resources and the scale of the needs, we are no longer able to protect this priority group,” operational director Pierre Hublet said.

Director general Sarah de Liamchine, who took up her post on 1 September, has alerted the authorities to the situation.

“We’re in discussions with the subsidising authorities to increase our capacity to accommodate families,” de Liamchine said.

“We are awaiting budgetary responses in the coming days from the Brussels caretaker government.”

Samusocial also fears an increase in the number of men, women and families with children forced to sleep outside as winter approaches.

“Today, some people are still finding temporary shelter with relatives or thanks to emergency solutions, such as squatting or sleeping in metro stations, but these alternatives will soon be exhausted and, moreover, they are unsafe,” the organisation said.