Belgium
Contact
Organisation: Belgian Homeless Cup
Address: Speldenstraat 19, 9000 Gent
Tel: +32 03 340 49 22
Fx: +32 0493 / 63.57.52
Contact: Bert Ballegeer
Em: bert@belgianhomelesscup.be
Web: www.belgianhomelesscup.be
Facebook: Belgian Homeless Cup 2010
Organisation
The Belgian Homeless Cup is a social sports project designed to motivate and help homeless people reintegrate into society. Some participants are literally roofless, others are in poor housing situations and all have a cluster of problems such as debts, alcohol or substance abuse, mental health problems, lack of education, etc.
The projects gives them a chance to concentrate on their strengths, to find themselves as individuals again and to learn to work together as a team. Football is the motivator, and we find that it works as a trigger to tackle other areas in life such as housing, health, work, training, relationships etc.
We strive for a balance between sport and social issues, so that it is not the best footballers who win, but the team that has worked best to tackle their personal problems and made the most progress. In that process, no one is left behind. Non-footballers can play a role as supporters, volunteers, etc.
Another important element in the project is to influence public opinion on homelessness by creating more awareness on how easy it is to become homeless and how different the paths into and out of homelessness may be. By sharing individual's stories and showing their strengths and weaknesses we see that there is more empathy among the general public.
The “Belgian Homeless Cup” is a collaboration between Open Stadion and Steunpunt Algemeen Welzijnswerk.
Open Stadion
“More than a club” is the main idea of Open Stadion. It stimulates footballcompanies of the first and second division to use their power in favour of society. In this way their stadium becomes more than just an infrastructure/building and their organization more than only a sports club.
Steunpunt Algemeen Welzijnswerk
This is a public assistance centre for the co-workers and for those who are responsible for the centres of public assistance and street corner work. It’s a centre of expertise on the topics and methodologies in connection with social work. www.steunpunt.be