Roeselare (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Roeselare expects neighbouring towns and municipalities to invest in the night shelter to help the homeless. The city has 21 beds, but sometimes people from other municipalities also stay for the night. There are more nights that need shelter than there are shelters. That is why Roeselare, located in the Flemish province of West Flanders, Belgium, would like to make it stricter as to who can stay there.
Roeselare is asking the adjacent people’s committee to financially support its night shelter for homeless people. The city currently has 21 beds, but due to high demand, there are daily rejections. Although 90% of users are inhabitants of Roeselare, inhabitants of surrounding towns look for shelter there as well.
To cope with the pressure, the city intends to impose tighter admission criteria, but considering that residents from municipalities who share costs. A proposal will be made to the neighbouring regions, and after the summer, the new system should be expected, as reported by VRT.
“There is a lot of demand for night shelters,”
says Alderman Bart Wenes (CD&V), who is responsible for the policy of the OCMW.
“In many places, the demand is greater than the supply, and that is also the case in Roeselare. Every day we have to disappoint people. 90% of them come from Roeselare, but now and then there are also people from other municipalities in the area.”
“We now want to be a bit stricter in our selection procedure. That is why we will ask the surrounding municipalities to also contribute financially for their people who stay in our night shelter. People from municipalities that do not do this, we will unfortunately have to refuse. Although I am confident that most municipalities will make a contribution.”
What is the background of Roeselare’s night shelter challenges?
Night shelter challenges experienced by Roeselare are the result of good ideals in relation to the rising number of homeless people, local opposition, and changing shelter models. As is the case with many of the cities, Roeselare presented an increased number of individuals who felt homeless with gaps in the social support system, job losses, and relationship breakdowns, among others, as the reasons.
Proposing or expanding a night shelter is frequently opposed by communities and owners of properties surrounding such a plan, which has frustrated and stalled such projects. Moreover, controversies over the optimum method of sheltering exist. While communal shelters promote a sense of community and solidarity, they may not be private, and private accommodations may lead to isolation and mental health risk.
These are further complicated by the need for sustainability in funding and coordination between both local authorities and social services. This means that Roeselare’s night shelter efforts shed light on societal and logistical challenges in reducing homelessness.
