Stories

It all begins on a chilly October morning. A few drops of rain brush my face and scalp. A rather unsubtle reminder that autumn has well and truly arrived.

I meet a volunteer near Etterbeek-Ixelles Hospital. The plan: meet up with Mr P. and accompany him on a shopping trip to refresh his wardrobe.

Or so I thought.

A phone call from Mr P. changes our plans: we will meet him near Flagey instead.

“When you’re living outside, you’re never at peace.” Martine talks about the hardships of life on the street and the relief of leaving it behind.

Today, her “little nest” gives her the peace she needed. In this video, she shares her pride in having made it off the street and talks about the essential role Street Nurses continues to play by her side.

Watch Martine’s story in the video below.

“I cried all the time. Life was a burden.” For three years, Chaima endured life on the street, to the point where she thought she would never get out.

In this video, she shares how the support of Street Nurses helped her discover another side of life. Today, she feels more stable, physically and mentally, more fulfilled and at peace: “The weight on my shoulders is lighter.”

Watch Chaima’s story in the video.

“You live on the street when you have no choice.” Albert talks about the cold, the lack of hygiene and meals: a life he describes as “impossible”.

Today, his daily life is much better. In this video, he looks back on his journey and the support he received from Street Nurses, with one conviction: finding solutions “not for us, but with us”.

Watch Albert’s story in the video.

We met Madam in September 2022, after a colleague from the network referred her to us. She had been living on the street since 2017, in a train station where she had found shelter after being thrown out by her ex-partner.

She often talks to us about her country of origin, the warmth, the ocean and the food.

She dreams of going back there, but not without her children.

Very quickly, she recognises us each time we pass by and remembers our conversations. Little by little, she opens up, asks us questions about our lives and a relationship of trust begins to grow.

Mr M., who is supported by the MyWay team, had a dream: to return to his country of birth, Morocco. To see his mother and sister again, whom he calls every week.

But travelling to Morocco was no easy task for the team. He needs weekly hospital care. His entire support network therefore had to be informed so that the hospital he attends in Brussels could find a hospital for him in Morocco.

Today, I would like to tell you about Mrs A., whom our street team has been supporting for exactly one year. She has been living on the street for years and is getting older. She is increasingly experiencing memory problems, which make her daily life even more difficult. Conversations can therefore sometimes become confusing, and it is not always easy to know how best to help her. On top of this, there are old wounds and events from the past that regularly resurface and seem to keep her trapped in a story that is difficult to escape.a

In the middle of July, the heat is overwhelming. Temperatures rise above 37 degrees and, in the field, every outreach round becomes a race against the risks associated with the heatwave. During these extreme periods, the team adapts its priorities: reaching out to the most vulnerable people, those who, because of their physical or mental health, are no longer able to protect themselves.

This morning, the air already feels heavy when we arrive at the office. It is almost 30 degrees.

As a team, we go over the patients we need to see first: those who do not always think about drinking enough water, finding shade, or who quite simply have nowhere to protect themselves.

In our bags, alongside the usual care equipment, we pack caps, bottles of water and sunscreen to hand out.

Mr T., now in his fifties, was referred to us in 2019 by the CPAS, following a period of street homelessness and a psychiatric hospitalization. He had just moved into housing and was already receiving support from a mobile mental health team. The aim of the support was to consolidate his housing stability, while integrating it into a global and coordinated care approach.

Gaining access to housing after a long period of homelessness is both a long-awaited and deeply destabilising step. As our colleague Dr Pierre, who passed away in March 2025, often reminded us: moving is one of the most stressful events in a person’s life.

I have been working in the healthcare and social sector for almost nine years. I joined Infirmiers de Rue / Straatverplegers more than six years ago—first as a field nurse, then as co-coordinator of the Housing First team (housing). My work has taken place on the street, in people’s homes, and in precarious living situations—where “classic” care pathways no longer reach people, or do not reach them sufficiently.