Brussels, 20th November 2014Françoise WEIL, Managing Director

Plate-forme de Concertation pour la Santé Mentale en Région Bruxelles-Capitale

http://pfcsm-opgg.be

Research: Individual interviews and focus groups with actors from social and (mental) health

sectors (emergencies, mental health care centers, (emergency) shelters, medical centers, federations, etc.)

Literature review Visits in Belgium, France and Denmark Forum to validate – invalidate research results  

More than 2000 homeless people in Brussels (increasing number of women, alone or with children; increasing number of young people; etc.)

No access to housing: 38.000 persons on waiting lists to access council houses or flats, lack of temporary accommodation, lack of sheltered living units and psychiatric nursing homes (high threshold)

Mental health reform (desinstitutionalisation), care and cure in their living environment if possible! Lack of mobile teams!

Mental Health Care Centers (waiting lists + no mobility; only 2% – coverage 60.000 persons, mainly people with a demand, etc.)

Needs for homeless people expressed by actors in these different institutions…

What about the silent homeless who never get to these institutions? No demands formulated by psychotic persons

Increasing psychosocial suffering

+/- 30% estimated prevalence of psychiatric diseases within homelessness population

Hardly ever reach psychiatric emergencies because no demand

May reach general emergencies of public hospitals, but not other hospitals

Under diagnosis

Diversified housing options similar to Housing First + low threshold access to housing with multidisciplinary teams providing psychosocial support at home

Streetworkers who can establish a contact and guide them to regular health, social, etc. services

Encourage better networking within and between social and (mental) health sector

Providing means for supervision and emotional support for aid workers to prevent demotivation and burn-out

Increasing means for emergency units of public hospitals to hire social workers to help with administrative demands and social orientation to ensure continued care

Reforming Mental Health Care Centers to have a 24h access, some beds available for crisis situations and to provide outpatient support in the living environment of the person