On the 15th of October in Anderlecht Brussels, the Belgian Red Cross Croix-Rouge opened a center for homeless families to shelter them during the winter. Since the opening, the Marie-Curie center has grown in residencies from 50 inhabitants to 100, at the time of the report. They plan to open the center up to its maximum capacity of 185 people.
Marie-Curie is unique in how they encourage autonomy amongst its residents by giving families their own rooms and their own bank cards. The budget that was given for the Marie Curie center is partly used to spread amongst the individual families, so they can buy their own clothes and groceries.
In an earlier Bruzz article, the director of the Marie Curie center Romane Devresse insisted on the importance of continuing the normal way of live for the families that end up at the center. By letting them do their own groceries and letting as many children as possible go to school. Among the shared facilities are hygiene and medical products provided by the Croix-Rouge to all the families. The families also share one large kitchen per floor, of which there are three. In the kitchen the families get the opportunity to cook for themselves but eat together if they so desire.
At the time of the report there are about 15 to 20 people from the Croix-Rouge active at the center. According to one of the workers, the team is in good spirits. “Everybody is new and super motivated. Everyone wants to take initiative and make the most of those five months we have in front of us.” Says Priscilla, the Croix-Rouge worker we spoke to during the report. During the report, residents who were bilingual did not hesitate to help translate whenever a worker did not speak the same language as another resident. Kids were walking and playing through the center, part of whom were at school, according to Priscilla. “The children are one of the most important when it comes to connection between the families. They are the first to reach out to other kids by playing together”. The Croix-Rouge workers are also encouraged to contribute to the cohesion and atmosphere by sharing all their ideas to make the center more welcoming. They do this, for example, by creating and gathering decorations that give the center a cheerful touch. Before the report they also celebrated Halloween with the residents, activities none of the workers are obligated to do. “A plan for the upcoming Christmas is already in the works”, says Priscilla.
The workers and residents are very optimistic of the coming winter months, before the center inevitably must close again.
