This homelessness census in Wallonia sheds light on homelessness in Belgium. Behind the figures are thousands of lives — and an urgent call for sustainable housing solutions and long-term support.
18,800 homeless people and people living in poor housing conditions in Wallonia.
Year after year, the same alarm is sounded. In the field, we are no longer surprised, but we keep repeating the same mantra: above all, we must not get used to it.
Because behind this figure, let us not forget, there are 18,800 people whose right to housing is trampled on every day, 18,800 people who face the violence of the streets and the uncertainty of tomorrow.
This alarming figure comes from the count organised last October by the Walloon Observatory on Homelessness, in collaboration with organisations in the sector and the CIRTES team (UCLouvain). It is an estimate, based on a survey conducted in three areas — Tournai-Mouscron, Huy-Waremme and the Liège basin — and supplemented with data collected in other areas in previous years.
Thanks to a common counting methodology shared by the Brussels, Flemish and Walloon regions, the picture of homelessness across the country is becoming clearer every year. For instance, at the end of March 2026, Flanders published the figures: 20,363 homeless people in the Flemish region, a number that is clearly rising. In Brussels, nearly 10,000 people were counted in 2024; these figures will be updated in October of this year (homeless people in Brussels).
5,031 children: homelessness and poor housing also affect minors
Of the 18,800 people, 5,031 are minors, or 27% of the counted population — a proportion comparable to that in Flanders.
At national level, there are therefore 13,000 children who are homeless or living in poor housing conditions. A shocking figure, exposing an unacceptable reality: no child should have to grow up on the streets. It is impossible to develop in an environment characterised by uncertainty and the stress of a daily life centred on the search for shelter, food and a semblance of safety. For these children, the political choices made today will shape the adults they will become tomorrow.
Complex pathways: mental health and precarity, and mental disorders and social exclusion
The research highlights complex pathways, littered with violence that recurs at every level. When the youth support system struggles to provide sustainable protection, the people we support testify to fragmented lives, moving from centres to shelters and from foster families to institutions. As soon as they reach the age of majority, yesterday’s children — now adults — are dropped into an institutional vacuum, where the grey areas of social security fail to provide them with a final safety net. As a result, 20% of homeless people and those living in poor housing conditions are aged between 18 and 25.
The fragmentation of their life course then gives way to psychological fragmentation, with lasting consequences for mental health. The Observatory’s study echoes what we see in the field: in the life stories of some homeless people, we find stays in psychiatric care, periods in detention and the development of addictions. This illustrates the link between precarity and mental health.
Specific vulnerabilities: women, hidden homelessness and violence
Another striking development is the growing proportion of women among the homeless population. Today, they account for around a third of the affected population in Wallonia, with peaks of up to 43% in certain regions.
According to Martin Wagener, a researcher with the CIRTES team, the proportion of women is continuing to rise. On the one hand, this is because measures are being implemented for this specific target group, bringing some of the ‘hidden homelessness’ to light. At Street Nurses, for example, gender is one of the criteria influencing admission to support services, to better account for the discrimination associated with it.
But it is also because women are bearing the brunt of developments in recent years: they are on the front line of increasing precariousness in society, the rising cost of living and the rise in domestic violence. This figure is an indicator of a society that is struggling to care for all its members. The Arizona government’s unchanged policy will exacerbate an existing phenomenon: by attacking pensions, pushing aside the long-term sick and restricting access to unemployment benefits, women — who are over-represented in part-time work and non-linear careers — will be the first to be affected.
Yet the women we support testify: on the streets, they face a greater risk of aggression and gender-based violence. Some develop survival strategies, for example by adopting a more masculine gender expression or by seeking refuge with loved ones. According to the study, the number of women staying with third parties in Wallonia is rising sharply. But in such closed-door arrangements, the risk of exploitation is high. Many women report having experienced violence while seeking refuge with acquaintances.
Housing First, sustainable housing solutions and support: housing reintegration and maintaining housing
With every census, the conclusion is the same: the figures are unacceptable. And yet the response from organisations in the sector is always the same: homelessness is not inevitable. Solutions do exist, and they have already proven their worth abroad. We cannot repeat it often enough: the health and social sectors must be strengthened to prevent people from ending up on the streets, but above all, there is a need for housing and support.
Housing, because the end of homelessness can only be achieved through ambitious housing policy. Housing is a place to settle down and find peace; a place where care can be organised and coordinated; a place to sleep, dream and develop new perspectives. Given the crisis in affordable housing, investment is needed in social housing, but consideration must also be given to access for the most vulnerable people. On the streets, letters get lost due to changes in territory, registration deadlines pass without reminders, and people lose their place on long waiting lists. At Street Nurses, we advocate for priority access to social housing for homeless people, so that they can assert their rights — a key step for housing reintegration and maintaining housing.
Support, because behind the figures, the census primarily reveals the complexity of the pathways. Every week, our teams on the ground in Liège struggle to answer all the enquiries that come in. According to the study, nearly 280 people in the Liège basin are eligible for Housing First support. At the same time, our teams face enormous challenges: overstretched public social welfare centres (CPAS/OCMW), limited access to a decent income due to the reform of unemployment benefits, a shortage of treatment places and hospital beds, and an increasingly hostile reception policy. The current erosion of social rights does not make the work of social workers any easier. They are forced to make up for the shortcomings of a system that is failing part of the population. At Street Nurses, we are calling for a funding guarantee for support structures and the lasting establishment of Housing First in Wallonia — because housing and recovery go hand in hand.
We wrote this two years ago: the findings are alarming and time is running out.
Today, nothing has changed. Every day, 18,800 people in Wallonia summon the courage to face the reality of homelessness. We need equally courageous government measures that do justice to these people who are fighting for their daily survival.
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