Credit: Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region

During the most recent edition of Action Hiver, which took place from 23 November 2018 to 31 March 2019, day centres in Luxembourg welcomed 17,234 people.

The Wanteraktioun or Action Hiver is a humanitarian action implemented by the Luxembourg Government in the winter of 2001 with the aim of preventing homeless people from being victims of hypothermia during periods of extreme cold. This action is coordinated by the Ministry of Family, Integration and the Greater Region.

The Luxembourg Red Cross managed the day care centre in Luxembourg-Bonnevoie which was open daily from 12:00-17:00. Some sixty volunteers, together with Red Cross professionals, distributed meals and took part in household tasks and the logistics of the centre. As well as socio-pedagogical work, the education team and volunteers organised professional reintegration activities such as CV and cover letter-writing, artistic workshops, fun activities and a relaxation workshop. The Red Cross also provided rooms for leisure equipped with newspapers, games, music and television. In addition, 227 people benefited from the Red Cross changing rooms where clothes are harvested for free redistribution to people in need or with a low income. The volunteer commitment of 34 nurses and 3 doctors similarly allowed the Red Cross-Doheem Versuergt services to organise free medical assistance and medical consultations. In 136 hours, 95 beneficiaries went to the clinic for a total of 147 visits.

As in previous years, the team of Caritas Home and Solidarity staff managed the night centre. Since 2017/2018, the centre has offered six beds that can accommodate homeless people with their dogs. Morning and evening, a team of three to four volunteers ensured the distribution of snacks. The volunteer team invested a total of 4,515 hours of work in the night centre.

During Action Hiver 2018/2019, the Inter-Actions Coordination Service provided field coordination, which was punctuated by daily entries for the night shelter and individual follow-up meetings with homeless people with medical and health problems requiring professional help. The service provided assistance directly, where permitted, or via specialised service referrals, namely the "Streetwork" service. Since 2017/2018, three services, namely the "First Call" service of Inter-Actions and two night shelters (Caritas and Red Cross) have complete the general offer of assistance to homeless people.

Regarding this year’s figures, the Action Hiver attracted slightly fewer people to both its day and night centres: 17,234 people attended the day centres this year compared to 19,117 in 2017/2018 and 14,192 visited the night centres compared to 14,849. Compared to the 2017/2018 edition, some 1,883 fewer meals were distributed in the day centres, which represents an average decrease of 15.56 meals per day. The maximum number of meals was served on the day of 9 March with 188 units.

For the night centre, there were 657 fewer overnight stays than in 2017/2018; considering the additional eight days of opening, attendance decreased by 10.4%. Peak attendance was recorded on 5 March with 145 overnight stays. 

On another note, men accounted for 92.98% of those who attended the day centre, whilst 7.02% were women. Moreover, 10.43% of beneficiaries were of Luxembourg nationality, 45.06% were European Union nationals and 44.51% were non-EU nationals. 55.58% of people were between 26 and 45 years old, 25.12% were between 46 and 65 years old and 17.55% belonged to the 16 to 25 age group, while 1.40% of people were aged over 65 years old. Some minors (0.35%), aged 15 or under, accompanied by their parent(s), also benefited from the day centre.

As for the night centre, men accounted for 94.05% of those who attended and women 5.95%. Meanwhile, 6.86% of people at the night centre were Luxembourgers, 48.53% came from an EU Member State and 44.61% came from a non-European country/non-member state of the EU. 53.83% of attendees were between 26 and 45 years old, 26.25% between 46 and 65 years old and 18.43% between 16 and 25 years old. Only 1.24% of people were over 65 years old and 0.25% were minors accompanied by an adult.