Action Hiver Sees a 5.45% Increase in Night Centre Attendance

The most recent edition of Action Hiver, which took place from 1 December 2017 to 1 April 2018, was characterised by a slight increase in attendance of its night centres and a decrease in that of its day centres in Luxembourg.

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.

As part of the Foyer Abrisud, the City of Esch / Alzette provides four emergency beds throughout the period of Action Hiver and, for the fifth consecutive year, around 60 volunteers contributed to the organisation of Mëttesdesch at the day care centre managed by the Luxembourg Red Cross. Their role is to distribute meals, participate in housework and logistics. Meanwhile, the voluntary commitment of 28 nurses and 8 doctors enabled Red-Doheem Versuergt's services to organise, twice a week, two hours of care and free medical consultations. The clinic recorded 254 visits.

As in previous years, the team of Caritas Home and Solidarity staff managed the night centre. The installation of 3 additional beds has increased the number of beds that can accommodate homeless people accompanied by their dog to a total of 6. For the fourth year in a row, a team of 3-4 volunteers managed the distribution of snacks in the mornings and evenings.

During Action Hiver 2017/2018, three new services, namely Inter-Actions' "First Call" service and two night centres (Caritas and Red Cross), were introduced to assist the homeless, including those with mental health problems.

Regarding this year’s figures, the Action Hiver attracted slightly more people to its night centres (5.45%) but slightly less to its day centres (-8.84%). The centre Foyer Abrisud, for instance, welcomed 44 people, which is lower than that of the 2015/16 edition and, compared to the 2016/17 edition, some 1855 fewer meals were distributed, represented 15.33 meals per day. The maximum number of meals was served on the day of 18 February with 218 units. For the night centre, the peak attendance was recorded on 11 February with 170.

On another note, men accounted for 92.91% of those who attended the day centre, whilst 7.09% were women. Moreover, 11.22% of beneficiaries were of Luxembourg nationality, 56.01% were European Union nationals and 32.77% were non-EU nationals. 60.22% of people were between 26 and 45 years old, 27.98% were between 46 and 65 years old and 9.93% belonged to the 16 to 25 age group, while 1.65% of people were aged over 65 years old. Some minors (0.22%), aged between 0 and 15, accompanied by their parent(s), also benefited from the day centre.

As for the night centre, men accounted for 93.34% of those who attended and women 6.66%. At the Foyer Abrisud, 81.82% of the 44 people welcomed were men. Meanwhile, 6.43% of people at the night centre were Luxembourgers, 64.05% came from an EU Member State and 29.52% came from a non-European country/non-member state of the EU. At the Foyer Abrisud, 31.82% of the people welcomed were Luxembourgers, 45.46% European Union nationals and 22.73% non-EU nationals. 59.44% of people were between 26 and 45 years old, 27.15% between 46 and 65 years old and 11.28% between 16 and 25 years old. Only 1.87% of people were over 65 years old.