Poverty in Belgium is a regional matter. The national average for those who live under the poverty line stands at 15.2%, but in Flanders, the figure is 10.9%. In Wallonia, the number rises to 18.8%, and in Brussels it is higher still, at 23%. That means poverty affects nearly one in four people in the capital.
The poverty line lies at 60% of median income. (Half of all households lie above the median, and half below). This figure is then adjusted to take account of the composition of the household: how many children and other dependants, etc. At the website of the Centre for Social Policy (CSB), a calculator allows anyone to determine their own household’s position on the scale. For a single person, the line is €878 a month; for a family of two adults and two children under 14, the figure is €1,844.
Single parents have it worst
But poverty is also a function of several social factors. According to the yearbook on poverty and social exclusion from the University of Antwerp, nearly 28% of single parents are living in poverty, not far from twice the national average. To put it another way: while people in Flanders are on the whole only as poor as their relatively prosperous neighbours in the Netherlands, single parents are on a similar level to the people of Lebanon or Ghana.
In fact, single households in general are worse off: almost 22% of singles are under the poverty line. The elderly are also more likely to be poor: 22.3% are below the line. Finally, sickness is both a cause and an effect of poverty. The chronically ill are more likely to be poor – one in eight families has financial problems as a result of a chronic illness, according to a survey by the Christian Mutuality health fund.
At the same time, poverty causes people to skip medication or put off treatment, thereby exacerbating existing conditions. “There are many families who have it so difficult that they have to choose between a visit to the doctor or buying food,” says Joost Moonen of Welzijnszorg, a non-profit organisation that assists those affected by poverty. According to a survey carried out by Welzijnszorg and its French-speaking counterpart, the poor pay a life-expectancy premium of 15 years. In other words, poverty takes an average 15 years off your life.
Children
Children are the main victims of poverty: 12% of children – one in eight – in this country are growing up in a family where neither of the parents has a job, according to the Antwerp University’s yearbook. This is higher than the average for the EU (at 9.4%) and lower than only four other countries.
“There is a risk that [these] children will grow up without the example of someone who has taken part in the workforce,” said Antwerp researcher Danielle Dierckx. Federal minister for social integration Philippe Courard has pledged to spend €4 million this year to tackle child poverty.
Self-employed especially vulnerable
But the demographic of poverty is slowly changing. According to Antwerp University sociologist Jan Vranken, poverty is encroaching into what was once the secure middle class. “People who budgeted sensibly and took on loans as double-earners, are now being confronted by the burden of repayments after one or both of them has lost their job,” he explains.
The longer-term consequences are worrisome: the poverty trap becomes difficult to escape. Meanwhile, those who are unable to work, or who cannot find work, eventually face a negative effect on their pensions.
The self-employed middle class are especially vulnerable. Last year, a record number of businesses went bankrupt – 9,515, or 12% more than in 2008. Most of those were small businesses, and, according to Unizo, the union for the self-employed, more are having to apply to Unizo’s Tussenstap programme, which helps out business owners in difficulties and those who have had to close.
Business failure for the self-employed is more than simply the loss of a job; more members of the same family may be hit, years of investment may be lost, and homes and savings may well have been mortgaged to keep the business going. The dramatic effects of the economic crisis for business owners and their families is “underestimated by society,” according to a Unizo spokesman. The number of people who visited the Tussenstap site rose in November alone by 50% to 4,500. From a poll taken by Unizo, 67% of business owners knew someone in their circle of acquaintances who was having serious problems.
www.centrumvoorsociaalbeleid.be
www.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=*OASESE
www.welzijnszorg.be
Homelessness is only the most visible face of poverty, and the recent cold weather pushed the problem to the top of the news agenda.
The headlines before Christmas were taken up with homeless families of asylum-seekers for whom the federal agency Fedasil could not find accommodation. Temporary arrangements were made, including putting some of them up in hotels. Last week the agency revealed that the situation now, while less extreme, is still pretty bad: according to Flanders Refugee Action, before Christmas 30 to 40 people a day had to be turned away for lack of a place to sleep; now it is down to 24 to 27 people a day.
The wave of people who offered a place in their own homes to shelter the homeless was a mixed blessing, according to Caritas International. “The response from individuals was enormous,” says Karla Sandoval, “but we have made a point of asking people to think twice. People reacted out of the goodness of their hearts, but that sort of offer brings a huge responsibility with it. People who still want to go ahead can contact Fedasil.”
Meanwhile, the Brussels Collective for Street Deaths issued figures for 2008, which reveal that the average age of death of a homeless person is 49 years. In 2008, the youngest of the 32 street people who died was 21 and died of an overdose; the oldest was 81. Cancer is the main cause of death, followed by overdose.
There are plans in the works to possibly accommodate the homeless in royal apartments in Wallonia, in disused government buildings or in military barracks, but so far none of these options have become reality.
Another high-profile sign of poverty is the collection of food help, which rocketed in 2007 and 2008. In 2006, for example, 9,400 tonnes of food worth €21.6 million were collected and donated to feed a total of 106,900 people. By 2008, however, the amount of food had risen to 12,200 tonnes, at a market value of €32.5 million, to feed 110,700 hungry people.
Welzijnszorg’s Soep op de Stoep (Soup on the Pavement) runs until 15 February: volunteers across Flanders help supply food to those in need.
www.soepopdestoep.be
www.fedasil.be
Table 1 – Risk of poverty by household
Type of household Flanders Belgium
Single person 21.7% 25.6%
Two adults (under 65) 5.7 8.1
Two adults (one/both over 65) 21.2 20.4
Single parent 27.6 35.8
Two adults, one child 5.9 9.3
Two adults, two children 5.0 8.2
Two adults, three+ children 12.5 17.8
Overall totals 10.9% 15.2%
Table 2 – Profile of the homeless person in Flanders
Female 33%
Younger than 30 52
Older than 50 14
Foreign origin 27
Single 66
Lower school only 30
Secondary school only 23
Receiving unemployment benefits 37
(Source: UA Yearbook, 2006 figures) (Source, UA yearbook, 2007 figures)
10,780
families in Flanders – 207 a week – were under threat of eviction in 2008 for nonpayment of rent
100,000
families need help to pay for gas and electricity, either through social energy provision at lower than market prices, or budget meters to control consumption
€900 million
The amount needed to lift all pensioners in Belgium above the poverty line, according to Jos Berghmans of the Centre for Social Research at the Catholic University of Leuven. €607 half of all married women in Flanders has a pension of less than
€607
a month because of the number of years worked, making them more dependent on their husbands, who receive an average of €1,300
73,781
families are involved in arbitration to allow them to agree on a plan for paying off debts – mainly energy costs, loans, health costs and tax arrears
20%
of those who follow a course of retraining to return to the workforce are still working two years later
Flanders Today is a 
-8°C / -2°C
