The access to information, guidance, and protection is not a privilege, but a fundamental right

In the face of pre­ca­rious migra­tion jour­neys, opaque admi­nis­tra­tive pro­ce­dures, and the vio­lence of exclu­sion, Bel­Re­fu­gees has cho­sen a model of sup­port that is humane, rigo­rous, and unconditional.

Eve­ry day, our teams stand along­side those who — depri­ved of rights or resources — seek to unders­tand their situa­tion, assert their rights, or sim­ply find a safe place.

This sup­port is struc­tu­red around two clo­se­ly lin­ked mecha­nisms : first-line recep­tion at the Huma­ni­ta­rian Hub, and in-depth fol­low-up pro­vi­ded by our Social and Admi­nis­tra­tive Infor­ma­tion Ser­vice. Toge­ther, they form a conti­nuum of sup­port — from the very first contact to indi­vi­dua­li­zed case management.

---

━━━ The Humanitarian Hub : an essential entry point

Crea­ted in 2017 by a consor­tium brin­ging toge­ther Bel­Re­fu­gees, Méde­cins du Monde, Méde­cins Sans Fron­tières, the Bel­gian Red Cross, and SOS Jeunes-Quar­tier Libre AMO, the Huma­ni­ta­rian Hub is often the very first point of contact for people on the move.

Desi­gned as an open, acces­sible day­time wel­come space, it allows anyone to come without appoint­ment, to be recei­ved, lis­te­ned to, and gui­ded in a res­pect­ful, non-judg­men­tal setting.

Our teams ensure a regu­lar pre­sence during mor­ning sup­port shifts, where people can report emer­gen­cies, ask ques­tions about their sta­tus, request assis­tance, or regis­ter on our shel­ter wai­ting list. Each case is care­ful­ly asses­sed to mea­sure vul­ne­ra­bi­li­ty and, when pos­sible, direct the per­son to one of our accom­mo­da­tion centers.

The Hub is also where Bel­Re­fu­gees dis­tri­butes clo­thing and sup­plies col­lec­ted through dona­tion points across the Brus­sels region.

Donate clo­thing or supplies

But the Hub is much more than a ser­vice coun­ter : it is a space of social connec­tion, lis­te­ning, and recog­ni­tion, where life sto­ries are ack­now­led­ged in all their com­plexi­ty. In the context of an overw­hel­med recep­tion net­work and increa­sin­gly res­tric­tive migra­tion poli­cies, it embo­dies a place of pre­sence and soli­da­ri­ty — where no one is left behind.

In 2024, the Hub recor­ded 111,236 entries at the day cen­ter.
That same year, Bel­Re­fu­gees dis­tri­bu­ted over 104,000 clo­thing items and acces­so­ries there.

---

━━━ Social and Administrative Information Service (SISA)

When nee­ded — legal pro­ce­dures, health issues, or a need for pre­cise orien­ta­tion — people can be sup­por­ted by the Social and Admi­nis­tra­tive Infor­ma­tion Ser­vice (SISA).

Present in our shel­ters, at the Huma­ni­ta­rian Hub, and in other field loca­tions, SISA is made up of a mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­na­ry team com­bi­ning legal exper­tise, deep know­ledge of the social field, and active lis­te­ning skills.

This ser­vice pro­vides per­so­na­li­zed, often long-term sup­port. It can mean hel­ping someone with their appli­ca­tion for inter­na­tio­nal pro­tec­tion, faci­li­ta­ting access to heal­th­care, ensu­ring they can claim their social rights, or direc­ting them to spe­cia­li­zed services.

Our approach is holis­tic : we take into account the admi­nis­tra­tive, medi­cal, psy­cho­lo­gi­cal, and cultu­ral dimen­sions of each situation.

SISA’s work relies on a close balance bet­ween tech­ni­cal com­pe­tence and an ethics of care. The aim is not only to inform, but also to make com­plex sys­tems unders­tan­dable, to res­tore agen­cy to those who have been depri­ved of it, and to make rights a concrete tool of dignity.

We work hand in hand with a wide net­work of part­ners — lawyers, doc­tors, inter­pre­ters, spe­cia­li­zed asso­cia­tions — to ensure coherent res­ponses, always res­pec­ting each person’s choices and pace.