“When I saw what there was to pay, I did not understand.” Ciney, in the province of Namur. François is a job seeker. He has just received his electricity regularization bill: 1,483 euros to be reimbursed. A sledgehammer. The amount exceeds his monthly income. Unable to pay, he seeks help from the CPAS. “Frankly, I almost had a heart attack, without exaggerating. When I saw the amount, I did not understand. 1,400 euros, while I am all alone. I do not even dare to imagine those who have children and a house.”
After checking his resources and his consumption habits, Mélanie Lehaire, the social worker, introduces François’ file. She details: “It will rather be a payment of the invoice to settle the debt. It is a curative action. At the same time, we can put in place actions on the preventive level via a home visit. Is it do you have to change energy-intensive household appliances?
Walloon CPAS worried about growing demand linked to the various crises
On the occasion of their return to politics, the Walloon CPAS today expressed their concern about the growing requests for help they are receiving due to the various crises. Their federation (UVCW) has also made concrete proposals to rectify the situation.
The 262 Walloon CPAS have been fighting for more than two years due to health, climate (floods), migration (war in Ukraine) and now energy crises. Their number of beneficiaries is increasingly large and varied. Social demands are exploding and just at the level of integration income – “the tip of the iceberg” – the increase is 72% compared to 15 years ago, while employment in the CPAS has only increased by 18% over the same period.
“The will to help remains intact, but the concern is therefore strong“Faced with a cruel lack of structural and financial means, underlined the UVCW. This bitter observation, the Walloon CPAS submitted a series of demands to the federal government and the regions on Thursday. The main one is to rethink the position of the CPAS with regard to of all social institutions, taking into account the necessary structural reorganization and financing. “Concrete proposals will be made in 2023 as part of the preparation for future elections, but we can immediately put forward a strong triple demand for the CPAS: 100% reimbursement of the integration income by the federal government as well as its automatic and individualizedclarified on this subject the UVCW.