More Than a Roof: A Statistical Profile of Homeless People in Belgium

The current living conditions of homeless people in Belgium are alarming, as they do not only suffer from the lack of integration into the Belgian society, but they are often faced with inadequate living conditions, limited access to necessary services, mental and physical health problems, and a precarious socio-economic situation. The goal of this chapter is to fully exploit the statistical profile and the living conditions of homeless people in Belgium such as their demographic profile, including nationality and education, housing situation, income, participation in the labour market, and health profile. Nationwide socio-demographic data on homelessness in Belgium are very scarce. Specific ‘satellite surveys’ were carried out to collect data from groups excluded from the statistics, that should be comparable to the mainstream EU-SILC data. Our analysis confirms that roofless people are deprived of more than just a roof, all homeless people experience severe financial hardship, one in six to seven homeless adults (mainly men) is ‘in work’ with highly irregular and precarious jobs. Moreover, homeless people tend to suffer more from stress and mental health issues and more than one third of them are disabled or chronically ill.status: publishe