Circé, the first day centre "designed by and for homeless women," officially opens its doors on Wednesday on the Parvis de Saint-Gilles in Brussels.
Created by the non-profit organisation L'Ilot, which has been combating homelessness for some 60 years, the new facility will accommodate "female users who are in a situation of or at risk of poor housing," the press release states. According to the fire and emergency medical service Siamu (Service d'incendie et d'aide médicale urgente), Circé will be able to accommodate 60 women.
In January 2022, L'Ilot presented the results of a study on homeless women (carried out since March 2021) to members of the Brussels parliament.
Among other things, the study showed that the number of homeless or inadequately housed women was underestimated, that there was a lack of appropriate services and that they were subjected to violence on a daily basis. At the time, the ASBL announced its intention to create a day centre exclusively for women in the capital.
As well as this, the mixed-sex day centre that was located in Circé's new premises moved to their head office last summer, also in the commune of Saint-Gilles. The new premises will be officially inaugurated on 10 October.
