On the eve of the school holidays, host families for Ukrainian refugees are increasingly difficult to find. Christine Ramelot, coordinator of the Walloon unit for the reception and accommodation of Ukrainian refugees, expects difficult weeks.
“It is clearly more complicated to find families than at the start of the crisis. People who host refugees would like to go on vacation but they do not know what to do to relocate their hosts. The question of rehousing arises at the local level and we are working on the creation of collective housing; the objective is to create 1,000 places in July to relieve families”she explains.
Youth hostels, boarding schools, a former nursing home could be used to offer temporary accommodation to refugees outside the citizens’ private accommodation.
“We are working every day to reach this objective of 1,000 places in July and by September, we hope to open 3,500 new places in all. We have to anticipate because we do not yet know how the conflict will evolve. Some Ukrainians have returned to Ukraine but it is not known how many refugees will continue to arrive in Wallonia.”
Large families and refugees with specific needs will be given priority. “There are women who arrive in Belgium with several children and their mothers. These large families are difficult to place in foster families. They will therefore have priority in these structures”says Christine Ramelot.
In Brussels too, the situation is beginning to be tense. “It’s not always easy to find host families, but we manage to do it. There are still a number of potential host families, that is to say families who have come forward at some point. and have not yet received a refugee. But we will also have to create places in collective accommodation structures”, says Pierre Verbeeren, responsible for Brussels for the reception of Ukrainian refugees. The Brussels Region has set itself the goal of creating 3,500 places this summer. “It’s a huge challenge. We’re being asked to create a small Fedasil in three months. It’s a big logistical challenge. Some of these places will be in offices converted into housing, others in former hotels. Some places will accommodate 100 or 150 people without there necessarily being individual toilets and sanitary facilities”he continues.
Since the beginning of the invasion by Russia, nearly 49,000 Ukrainians have obtained a certificate of temporary protection in Belgium.