2023-11-11 06:00:00
A week following the launch of the Great Cold Plan, on November 1, the first figures worry Tournaise associations. “A situation which had already been observed for several weeks, explains Barbara Coupé, general coordinator of the Urban Social Network of Tournai (RSUT). Peaks at 110 meals per service at the Assiette pour Tous, followingnoons at Braséro frequented by around forty users, the Auxiliis night shelter which is on the verge of saturation, the distribution of breakdown tickets which increases once more, the RéPIT which finds itself having to accommodate around fifty people… The summer was not hot, but winter is already here for the very precarious…”
During these coldest months, and until March 31, the Relais Social Urbain de Tournai coordinates and finances the Great Cold Plan (Editor’s note: €100,000 out of the €200,000; the rest being covered by the Walloon Region – €55,000 – and the City of Tournai – €45,000 –). “The objective is to put in place service offers during the days and nights that are as comprehensive as possible, adds Quentin Ervyn, chairman of the RSUT board of directors. Thus, thanks to the mobilization of Tournaisian associations, and the expansion of time slots, we can allow everyone to shelter from the cold, and at the same time, find a caring and warm listener who, we We hope that we can begin some in-depth work. We push the walls and open the doors wide to offer a dignified and adapted welcome to people in very precarious situations during the coldest months of the year.”
A device that is all the more important when we know that around sixty people live on the streets in Tournai. Not to mention the forty or so migrants in transit. It is also to help them that RéPIT has been taking part in this Extreme Cold Plan for two years.
“Precariousness doesn’t take time off”
“The day shelter allows people to rest, warm up, find social and medical workers, carry out procedures, access winter equipment and hot drinks, recalls Zoé Masquelier from RéPIT. If we are usually open Monday to Thursday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. as well as Friday mornings from 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., we might open more in the morning depending on temperatures and needs. We will be open every day, even during the holidays, because precariousness does not take time off… And this will be possible thanks to the many volunteers!”
Another structure welcomes people in very precarious circumstances during the day: Braséro. “For food aid, building on its great success last year, l’Assiette Pour Tous is reissuing its breakfasts (€1) from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. and is continuing its hot lunch meals (€3.50) from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., notes Barbara Coupé. In the evening, the Red Cross takes over with the distribution of a lunch pack.
An additional night shelter
To cope with demand, the Auxiliis night shelter has increased its capacity to 26 emergency accommodation beds. “From November 13, an additional night shelter will once once more be set up for this winter by the Tournai Urban Social Network. It will accommodate 10 additional people in order to compensate for saturation or the inability to register at Auxiliis. Reception will take place in the sports hall of the Saint-Jean barracks. As with the other night shelter, it is the CPAS which will manage the dispatching of registrations.”
Also on the street
The workers are aware that not all people on the street will turn to these services. “This is why we maintain daily street patrols, and even twice daily during very cold weather, insists the RSUT coordinator. They are provided by educators from the citizen prevention service, but also street nurses. from Relais Santé and Citadelle as well as an educator from Braséro.”
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