"Donation after donation, let's build a future for homeless people"
As the year draws to a close, Street Nurses invites you to join a movement to change the lives of homeless people. Your support can make all the difference: every donation you make is another contribution to a better future.
Why is this campaign important?
2024 In Brussels, more than 800 people sleep on the streets every day and at least 6,000 more live in temporary shelters. A third of them have been homeless for more than two years .... A similar picture emerges in Liege.
Yet homelessness is not a fatality. Even for people who are homeless today, there is a future. And that future translates into housing.
That, in a nutshell, is the message of the campaign launched by Street Nurses from the end of November.
Do you also want things to change? Together, we will put an end to homelessness. Get involved!
The future of homeless people lies in housing
Homeless people will only find their place in society once they have a home. This is a realistic prospect for the future, in the day-to-day experience of the Street Nurses field workers. Every year, they can rehouse around twenty of the most vulnerable homeless people in Brussels and Liège.
Why is housing crucial?
For Street Nurses, there is only one good solution to homelessness: decent housing! Only in proper housing can people feel secure and work towards their health and integration into society. However, the organisation notes that it is still difficult to find enough affordable and suitable housing available to this target group.
"Ending homelessness is not only possible, but also necessary if we really want to improve the health and survival of homeless people and if we want to effectively combat poverty and exclusion. Access to decent housing is crucial in this respect as a lever for lasting change", states medical coordinator Pierre Ryckmans forcefully.
Therefore, we focus our reintegration efforts on returning homeless people to stable, affordable, quality housing.
But it's a long-term job. For people who have been living rough for several years and have several problems, there is a long way to go before they have the confidence to return to housing. If housing is available at all, that too remains a major problem.
To highlight this prospect for the future and keep its operations financially possible, Street Nurses is launching its winter campaign "Donation after donation, let's build a future for homeless people". Running from the end of November to the end of December, the campaign aims to raise public awareness of the need to end homelessness through housing, public solidarity and the collection of donations.
The campaign draws attention to the intensive and often lengthy support needed by people who have been on the streets for several years, and to the crucial role of housing.
Koen Van den Broeck, spokesperson for Street Nurses: "With Street Nurses, we accompany our patients step by step so that they can get out of their situation. We work on their hygiene, health and self-image, looking for their abilities and the things that give meaning to their lives. We put them back in touch with the medical and social network, we support them in sorting out their administrative situation so that they are once again entitled to an income, we help them to look for accommodation, to moving in and feel at home, we help them to look for solutions to make their loneliness bearable, and so on. Some even come to think of us as their family. In short, we spend years rebuilding this future with them. It takes a lot of people and resources. That's why we're hoping that the public will also contribute to this process, donation by donation. "
A campaign supported by business and the media
The campaign is financed thanks to the support of partners such as KBC Brussels, the National Lottery, Interparking, CHC Group, Prefer and AB Tech.
Media space is provided free of charge or at a greatly reduced price by various media. The campaign will be visible through posters, advertisements, postcards in restaurants, radio spots and posts on social networks.
Build a better future
How can you help us?
Homelessness is not inevitable when we act together: join us in building a future where no one has to live on the streets.
Your contribution will help lay the foundations for a better future for these vulnerable people. Every euro counts and brings someone closer to the security and stability of a home.
*TAX CERTIFICATE : If the annual accumulation of your donations exceeds €40, you will receive a tax certificate and a 45% tax exemption. So a donation of €40 only costs you €22.
We thank our partners
The National Lottery is much more than just playing - Thanks to its unique model, the National Lottery, with the support of all its players, is investing more than 345 million euros in 2024 in numerous organisations and associations whose social, athletic, cultural, or scientific projects make a difference every day. This is how we all work together to ensure a warmer and more inclusive Belgian society. #morethanplay