FACING INACTION, THE CITIZEN MOVEMENT !

WAPI Branch – Wallonie Picarde

The Wal­lo­nie Picarde regio­nal branch of the Citi­zen Plat­form for Refu­gee Sup­port ASBL, crea­ted in 2018, now has near­ly 1,000 sup­por­ters and seve­ral dozen active mem­bers : host fami­lies, volun­teers in col­lec­tive shel­ters orga­ni­zed in the region, col­lec­tors, donors, sym­pa­thi­zers, and more.

Contact
wapi@belrefugees.be

DAY CENTER

The Bon­se­cours (Per­uwelz) Day Cen­ter, ope­ned in Janua­ry 2021 and named Wel­come House by its bene­fi­cia­ries, can host up to 25 people — men and women — during the day.

It is open Tues­day to Fri­day after­noons to ensure the widest pos­sible access to ser­vices for those present in the area. The cen­ter pro­vides first-line ser­vices and social sup­port to beneficiaries.

Thanks to a strong part­ner­ship with the muni­ci­pa­li­ty, a wor­ker has been hired under Article 60 sta­tus. Their pre­sence, com­bi­ned with the com­mit­ment of a team of 30 volun­teers, makes it pos­sible to main­tain the exten­ded ope­ning hours.

COLLECTIVE SHELTERS

For seve­ral years, col­lec­tive shel­ters have been orga­ni­zed in Wal­lo­nie Picarde, depen­ding on pre­mises made avai­lable by sup­por­tive pro­per­ty owners. The condi­tions vary accor­ding to the agree­ments nego­tia­ted (from a few weeks to seve­ral months, full-time hou­sing or wee­­kend-only housing).

Brussels

Uncon­di­tio­nal wel­come in the heart of the capital

The Brus­sels branch is the his­to­ri­cal cradle of Bel­Re­fu­gees. It brings toge­ther a wide range of faci­li­ties and ser­vices for people in exile, home­less indi­vi­duals, or those in situa­tions of extreme vul­ne­ra­bi­li­ty. In the context of Belgium’s pro­lon­ged recep­tion cri­sis, our team — made up of pro­fes­sio­nals, volun­teers, and com­mit­ted part­ners — works eve­ry day to pro­vide digni­fied, sup­por­tive, and humane accompaniment.

HOUSING

Eve­ry day, the Brus­sels branch hosts seve­ral hun­dred people in its emer­gen­cy accom­mo­da­tion faci­li­ties (DHU), inclu­ding a women-only cen­ter for single women, a cen­ter for UAMs (unac­com­pa­nied minors), and a “pre-recep­­tion” center.

Resi­dents have access to a bed, sani­ta­ry faci­li­ties, dai­ly meals, a laun­dry ser­vice, as well as socio-legal and psy­cho­so­cial support.

SUPPORT SERVICES

The Social and Admi­nis­tra­tive Infor­ma­tion Ser­vice (SISA) is at the heart of the sup­port pro­vi­ded to people hou­sed in Brussels.

Its teams ope­rate in all our cen­ters, inclu­ding the Huma­ni­ta­rian Hub.

The ser­vices are pro­vi­ded by social wor­kers, legal advi­sors, inter­pre­ters, and inter­cul­tu­ral mediators.

CLOTHING DISTRIBUTION

Since its crea­tion, the Huma­ni­ta­rian Hub has been a key day­time recep­tion point for people on the move.

In Brus­sels, our branch orga­nizes the dis­tri­bu­tion of clo­thing, shoes, hygiene pro­ducts, and blan­kets to meet essen­tial needs.

Dona­tions are sor­ted, sto­red, and dis­tri­bu­ted with the help of a team of volun­teers and part­ner asso­cia­tions. This acti­vi­ty is essen­tial to res­tore digni­ty and com­fort, par­ti­cu­lar­ly for those living on the streets.

MAXIMILIEN SCHOOL

Foun­ded in 2015 in the park of the same name, Maxi­mi­lien School is now a space for lear­ning, connec­tion, and empo­werment for people in exile.

The School is a cor­ners­tone of our vision of recep­tion through inclu­sion and access to know­ledge, and a step­ping stone toward autonomy.

Hesbaye-Liège Branch

The Hes­baye regio­nal branch of the Citi­zen Plat­form for Refu­gee Sup­port ASBL, crea­ted in Octo­ber 2017, now has near­ly 1,600 sup­por­ters and seve­ral hun­dred active mem­bers : host fami­lies, volun­teers in col­lec­tive shel­ters orga­ni­zed in the region or in the Waremme day cen­ter, col­lec­tors, donors, sym­pa­thi­zers, and more.

Soli­da­ri­ty acti­vi­ty in the region has been mar­ked from the very begin­ning by strong civic mobi­li­za­tion and a large num­ber of host fami­lies. The first col­lec­tive shel­ters were orga­ni­zed as ear­ly as the sum­mer of 2018, and since then dozens more have followed.

FAMILY HOUSE HUY

The Fami­ly House in Huy ope­ned in 2020 and ini­tial­ly wel­co­med only women. Since 2024, it has been trans­for­med into a Fami­ly House — the first of its kind — wel­co­ming women with chil­dren. It is mana­ged by an all-women volun­teer team.

Thanks to an agree­ment with the City and the CPAS of Huy, we are also able to wel­come women vic­tims of vio­lence during the first three to four days after lea­ving the place of violence.

The col­lec­tive emer­gen­cy hou­sing acti­vi­ties are car­ried out with the sup­port of the Wal­loon Region.

Brabant Wallon Branch

The Bra­bant Wal­lon regio­nal branch of Bel­Re­fu­gees, crea­ted in Octo­ber 2017, now has near­ly 4,000 sup­por­ters and seve­ral hun­dred active mem­bers : host fami­lies, volun­teers in col­lec­tive shel­ters orga­ni­zed across the region, col­lec­tors, donors, sym­pa­thi­zers, and more.

Through hou­sing faci­li­ties but also day cen­ters such as Welc’Home and Café Monde, the branch offers com­pre­hen­sive and humane sup­port to people on the move.

Contact
0472/273886
brabantwallon@belrefugees.be

HOUSING

Bra­bant Wal­lon has seve­ral emer­gen­cy shel­ters spread across dif­ferent muni­ci­pa­li­ties. These faci­li­ties can host bet­ween 4 and 15 people and are avai­lable for varying lengths of stay. Col­lec­tive emer­gen­cy hou­sing acti­vi­ties are car­ried out by volun­teer teams with the sup­port of the Wal­loon Region.

Hou­sing acti­vi­ties are car­ried out with the sup­port of the Wal­loon Region.

THE WELC’HOME

Inau­gu­ra­ted in 2020 in the heart of Lou­­vain-la-Neuve, Welc’HOME is the Wal­loon branch of the Citi­zen Plat­form for Refu­gee Sup­port. A trans­ver­sal space dedi­ca­ted to wel­co­ming migrants, Welc’HOME hosts a wide range of acti­vi­ties for people on the move as well as for citi­zens wor­king to ensure digni­fied reception.

It offers lan­guage, IT, and digi­tal tool classes as part of its “School Without Bor­ders,” a social and legal sup­port desk, spe­cia­li­zed exile-rela­­ted psy­cho­lo­gi­cal consul­ta­tions, asy­lum pro­ce­dure infor­ma­tion ses­sions, pre­pa­ra­tion for first inter­views, cultu­ral and sports acti­vi­ties, and more.

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CAFE MONDE BY BELREFUGEES

A space of convi­via­li­ty and diver­si­ty where access is not deter­mi­ned by finan­cial means, social or admi­nis­tra­tive sta­tus, ori­gin, reli­gion, skin color, or gen­der. Open to eve­ryone, it fos­ters encoun­ters, connec­tions, and sharing.

⛾ Café Monde, Verte Voie 20 (ground floor), 1348 Louvain-La-Neuve

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SCHOOL WITHOUT BORDERS

The School Without Bor­ders is a pro­ject offe­ring classes for people on the move, regard­less of admi­nis­tra­tive sta­tus, as well as for host fami­lies and volunteers.

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THE VESTIAIRE SOLIDAIRE

Thanks to a col­lec­tion net­work across Bra­bant Wal­lon, the Ves­tiaire Soli­daire, ope­ned in 2019, pro­vides free second-hand clo­thing and equip­ment to migrants and, more broad­ly, to anyone in need.

⚑ 120b, rue de la Baraque,
Lou­­vain-la-Neuve, Belgium

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