Leaving an Institution in Flanders (Belgium): A Road to Homelessness?

Abstract

People living in an institution will leave this residential context one day and have to proceed to a stable independent way of living. This transition is not without difficulties as it turns out this socially vulnerable group runs an increased risk of becoming homeless. Research in Flanders (Belgium) has shown that a considerable share of the homeless population has previously stayed in an institutional setting, mostly in youth care (48.7%), psychiatric (34.4%) and penitentiary (33.1%) institutions. Moreover, the share of homeless people with a history in one of these institutions has increased in the past decades. Institution leavers, face at least three obstacles to a stable housing situation in Flanders: a lack of affordable housing, a lack of access to (non-residential) social assistance and personal difficulties in coping with living independently. Yet, there are several programs that support institution leavers and prepare them for the transition to an independent living situation and legal developments that strengthen their position in society and on the housing market. In this paper, we explore these initiatives and developments in three case studies (Antwerp, Ghent and Leuven). Based on in-depth interviews with “street-level bureaucrats” who work in these institutions (youth care, psychiatric and penitentiary settings), social support services and social housing organizations, we reconstruct the pathways of institution leavers to the housing market, the support they receive and the experienced difficulties.

Keywords:

• Homelessness
• independent living
• institution leavers
• Flanders (Belgium)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 The ETHOS-typology is a typology of homelessness and housing exclusion developed by FEANTSA (this is the European Federation of National Organisations working with the Homeless).

2 Declaration of the European Parliament of 16 December 2010 on an EU homelessness strategy.

3 National action plans can be found on the website of FEANTSA (www.feantsa.org).

4 Flanders is the northern, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium.

5 These are private initiatives organised and regulated at the Flemish scale. Van Menxel (2005) does not include figures from local public centres for social welfare, installed in each Belgian municipality, which also provides for the homeless.

6 The social rental sector counts for 5–6% of the Flemish housing market (own calculations based on data from the umbrella organization VMSW and the statistics offices of the Federal and Flemish government).

7 The real number of households eligible for social housing is even higher. Calculations of the Flemish research institution on housing [Steunpunt Wonen] show a need to extent the existing supply of 145,952 units (SVR, 2012) by another 176,000 dwellings to meet the number of rightful claimants.

8 Kaderbesluit Sociale Huur is the specific legal framework for the social rental housing sector.

9 Basiswet betreffende het gevangeniswezen en de rechtspositie van de gedetineerden (2005).

10 Strategisch plan hulp- en dienstverlening aan gedetineerden (2000).

11 The living wage is a social benefit, assigned by the local Public Centre for Social Welfares. The amount of the monthly allowance depends on the household composition. For singles, the living wage was set at €801.34 a month on 1 December 2012. The amount is indexed on a yearly basis (http://www.mi-is.be/en/public-social-welfare-centers/equivalent-living-wages).

12 Discrimination in a legal sense is well-defined in Belgian law. Anti-racism and anti-discrimination laws forbid discrimination based on 19 “protected grounds” including nationality, ethnicity, current health situation, age, wealth (referring among other to the source of income) and marital status. An unequal treatment based on a non-protected ground is legally not seen as discrimination (e.g. a history of detention). Therefore, institution leavers are confronted with both discrimination and negative selection.

13 Data for 2012 are found in VRIND 2013 (Vlaamse Regionale Indicatoren 2013 – https://www.vlaanderen.be/nl/publicaties/detail/vrind-2013-vlaamse-regionale-indicatoren-1). Data for 2017 are provided by Huurpunt, the umbrella organization for all SRA’s in Flanders.