The hotline 'Allô? Aide sociale' (0800/35.243), launched in 2020 by the Federation of Social Services for Brussels residents, has received over 11,000 calls and handled more than 15,000 assistance requests in five years.
The organisation responsible for this free service revealed the statistics on Wednesday. Despite the absence of a crisis, the number of calls increased again in 2024.
Initially launched during the Covid-19 health crisis, the helpline aims to assist people facing various social difficulties. It serves as a complementary tool to support services provided by public (CPAS) and private entities (Comprehensive Social Action Centres or CASG, People's Aid Centres or CAP, etc.).
Over five years, the hotline's team of about 40 social workers from CAP, CASG, and CAW Brussels received 11,876 calls and dealt with 15,473 requests. Issues addressed include housing, financial resources, food aid, and administrative procedures.
A record was set during the health crisis with over 6,000 calls between July 2020 and June 2021. The number of calls has been rising again since summer 2023, from 1,532 calls between July 2022 and June 2023, to 1,675 calls between July 2023 and June 2024.
The Federation noted that this period was "not directly linked to any specific crisis," indicating that long-term structural issues, such as inflation and rent costs, are becoming more prominent.
Due to the slight increase in calls in recent years, the Federation of Social Services reminds us that "structural crises cannot be considered less important or experienced less acutely by individuals."
Related News
- Over 23,000 people used Flemish suicide hotline in 2024
- 'Call Alice': Free taxi project for sexual assault victims extends to Brussels Region
In the past year, housing inquiries have become the most frequent, accounting for 21% of calls for the first time since the hotline's launch. Over 40% of people contacting the service about housing cited difficulties with discrimination and rising rent prices.
Requests regarding financial resources and debt have also increased. In contrast, issues related to energy, water, and protected customer status, which topped the list of requests between 2022 and 2023 due to the energy crisis, have significantly declined in the last 12 months.
The free service, available on weekdays from 09:00 to 17:00, was predominantly used by women (57%) between July 2023 and June 2024. Isolated individuals without children, who make up 21.5% of Brussels' population, represented 49.5% of calls. Isolated individuals with children followed, accounting for 28.5% of calls. Lastly, people over 65 and under 25 each comprised slightly less than one-eighth of the total calls.
