The reopening of the Train Hostel in Schaerbeek as a temporary winter shelter was met with calls for more sustainable and long-term projects to address homelessness.
The centre, which can accommodate around 100 people, will reopen as part of a temporary winter plan until the end of March 2025. The aim is to provide shelter for families in distress.
Originally an emergency shelter, the former hostel first opened in March 2023 through a partnership between the Belgian Red Cross and Doctors of the World.
In addition to the shelter and meals offered at the Train Hostel, Doctors of the World provide medical and psychological support to families. "This is a particularly vulnerable group, often overlooked by Brussels' overcrowded shelters," the Red Cross noted.
Due to a lack of sustainable funding, the centre was forced to close after just one year, having temporarily housed 607 people, including 136 families.
While welcoming the fact that the location can make a difference for multiple families, the Red Cross also criticised the lack of sustainable and long-term solutions. "The urgent need is not simply to offer shelter for the night, but to create a support system, a pathway to stability and social reintegration," the non-profit organisation said in a press statement.
"So the Train Hostel is reopening, but how many months will it be before it closes again, leaving families and vulnerable people without a solution?" the Red Cross concluded.
