This week, Walloon Minister of Solidarity Yves Coppieters revealed figures which demonstrate, indeed, that “the number of people counted is significantly higher than expected”. According to the minister again, “the enumeration reveals a (much) larger part of the iceberg”.
In Wallonia, there are currently an estimated 18,812 people experiencing homelessness, including more than 5,000 children (5,031). “Minor children accompanied by their parents represent 26.7% of the total of persons counted”. The Liège basin is, as we suspect, no exception.
Liège, Seraing, Herstal, Ans
As a reminder, this count aims to assess the number of people in a situation of housing insecurity and, therefore, to provide adequate assistance. In Liège, the last count therefore dated from 2020, a period marked by Covid which could not be taken as a reference. Today, the impressions (from Liège) are confirmed, the phenomenon seeming to be in full expansion… Even if the counting methodology is intended to be more nuanced. Among the people identified, many have a roof over their heads, with a relative, in a home, in an emergency shelter, etc.
In the Liège basin, the count was carried out in Liège of course but also in Ans, Herstal and Seraing, the people “counted” being by definition not “attached” to a municipality. If it is difficult to compare the figure of “500” mentioned at the time with the current number, the observation is that, with the new counting methodology, of a clear increase. In total, 2,160 people were counted in this “pool”. A figure which is striking even if it does not surprise observers on the ground. More worrying, however, the number of children counted among these 2,160 people is 390, or almost 20%. In fact, nearly 300 adults (and 1 child) are actually on the street.
Men, adults… but not only
If we analyze the “profile” of homeless people in Liège, we see that a majority of them are men, at 68.7%, compared to 31.1% women. Unsurprisingly, the number of isolated people without children is also in the majority, we are talking about 72.9% for the Liège area. Nevertheless, single people with children are a reality (7.5%), as are couples with children (2.3%) and couples without children (3.5%). There are here a majority of people aged 30 to 39 years (27.5%) then, in descending order, 40-49 years (24.6%), 18-25 years (20%), 50-59 years (18.1%), 26-29 years (8.7%), 60-65 years old (5.8%) and even people aged 70 to 79 years old (1.1%) or even over 80 years old (0.6%).
Another worrying observation: the state of health of these people is particularly degraded. Thus, almost a third of people on the street in the Liège region suffer from addiction (27.1%), some from chronic health problems (18.6%), mental health (17.2%) or even mental disability (3.4%) and physical disability (3.6%).
Finally, among the 2,160 people counted, many went through “prison” (19.2%) or “psychiatric treatment” (14.5%). 23% of the 2,160 homeless people in the Liège area do not benefit from any income…
“Answer it collectively”
“This count highlights the diversity of the faces of residential insecurity: isolated women, young people on the move, families with children, people who are wandering or staying with relatives.”, comments Minister Yves Coppieters, “Beyond the figures, these are complex human realities, often invisible, to which we must respond collectively. I would like to salute the remarkable commitment of those on the ground, municipalities, social services, associations and volunteers, who make this work possible. Thank you also to the universities and the mobilized public service. Their mobilization is valuable and must guide our action Access to and maintenance of housing can no longer be thought of as a secondary goal: it is a fundamental pillar of any solidarity policy.“.
