“Nothing stands in the way now,” says social councillor Bruno Cavaleiro, who expresses his satisfaction after the vote.
Criticism previously circulated around the long duration of the project, which Cavaleiro describes as unwarranted. After all, the municipality had already purchased a new building for the shelter back in 2019. While it is true that the Covid-19 outbreak put a halt to the project, plans were quickly resumed, Cavaleiro adds. To him, there would be little point in now looking backwards.
The current night shelter on Rue Berwart, which is not far from the Justice of the Peace Court, was meant to be provisional when it was first opened in 2007. In a round container building, 18 beds are now available across two levels, four of which are intended as emergency beds.
In four dormitories, separated by gender, there are up to five beds each. There is also a small laundry room, cupboards, showers, a dining room and a small staff office where six social workers work.
Bruno Cavaleiro explains that the current and future shelter should be regarded as one big project, as people don’t just go to the shelter to sleep between 5 pm and 9 am. Given the collaboration with other initiatives such as the Social Office, Médecins du Monde, Stëmm vun der Stroos, as well as youth and drug support organisations, people who come to the shelter can get any help they need.
A new building for the night shelterIn 2022, the municipality had an audit carried out to better coordinate these social services, prompting further adjustments. The shelter facilities will move less than 200 meters from the current building, to a 4-storey building on rue de la Fontaine, which is currently being renovated. Right next to it, the municipality expects to build four social housing units, and the entire project is expected to be completed by September 2026.
With this move, the capacity will increase to 31 beds. But it’s not just about increasing the number of beds, emphasises the municipality’s architect Mirza Rahman. The overall area has also been increased from 500 to 1,200 square metres, which allows for the administrative part to be enlarged, in turn improving the quality of social activities. Rahman also expects an improvement in the quality of sleep, given that a maximum of three people will be able to stay in one room.
“The clientele has changed to some extent,” mentions Bruno Cavaleiro. A few years ago, predominantly older people would come to the shelter, whereas nowadays we get a lot of young job seekers looking for a night of undisturbed sleep.
The new night shelter building will also be fully accessible for people with reduced mobility. There are also plans for a place on the ground floor where the homeless can keep their animals.
Is the project in line with current needs?
“In our opinion, yes,” emphasises Bruno Cavaleiro. The fact that only the capital and Esch have a night shelter is a national problem, not a local one, he adds. Esch already plays a regional role in terms of social welfare and takes on these responsibility as a town. The state also supports the municipalities on a local level, but with the current budget, there are definite limits.
Watch the full report (in Luxembourgish) on RTL Tëlé:
