On 23 March 2025, we lost our dear colleague Pierre Ryckmans, doctor and medical coordinator.
One year later, his absence is still deeply felt. It leaves a void within the teams, in our habits and in our daily connections. But this absence coexists with something that remains very present: what he passed on, and what continues to live on in our work.
Pierre was one of those people who leave a lasting mark on an organisation. Through his rigour, his intelligence and his vision, of course, but above all through the way he embodied care: with high standards, with respect and with humanity. With him, there was never care without genuine consideration for the person, never support without attention to lived experience, never simplistic answers to complex situations.
“Housing is part of the treatment.”
This sentence captures a large part of what he stood for. For Pierre, providing care was not limited to responding to an emergency or treating a symptom. Providing care meant refusing to accept that people should be condemned to survive on the streets. It meant affirming that health cannot be considered without housing, without stability, without dignity.
This conviction was not only expressed in words. He contributed to structuring our methodology and to strengthening long-term, attentive, consistent and deeply human support. He also had that rare vigilance: making sure no one disappeared into blind spots. Going back to find those who were no longer visible, paying attention to absences, keeping in mind those who are too easily forgotten.
Pierre carried an ambition that matched his convictions: to end homelessness. The size of the organisation never limited this vision. He knew how to motivate teams, convince the sector and challenge society and policymakers. Under his impulse, this mission was carried forward with strength — and it continues to guide us today.
His deepest impact may be seen in the people he supported and in the colleagues he trained. For nearly twenty years, he crossed paths with many generations of workers. For many, he was a mentor, a source of inspiration, a strong reference point, but also someone with whom to share simple moments, humour, curiosity and life.
He trusted. He encouraged. He saw potential where others might have seen limits. He recognised commitment, even in difficult conditions. And this has deeply marked all those who worked alongside him.
With patients, this attitude was just as strong. He believed in them. He never reduced them to their situation. He held genuine admiration and a form of gratitude for them, convinced that they remind us, day after day, that change is possible.
His passing marked the entire year. The teams kept moving forward, going through this grief and gradually finding a new balance. But some presences do not disappear. They transform.
They remain in a sentence that comes back.
In a standard we continue to uphold.
In an attention to people that keeps guiding us.
In a way of working together that is even more aware of what truly matters.
Today, we wish to honour him with emotion, gratitude and respect.
Because a part of who we are, collectively, owes a great deal to him.
Because his commitment continues to live on in our practices, in our struggles and in the way we remain faithful to the relationship.
And because beyond the absence, what remains is what he passed on:
a commitment to dignity, a deep attention to people, and the conviction that we must never stop believing that change is possible.