With the sun beating down, the shade becomes well sought after: Homeless people are exposed to the sun at times for hours on end, but the heat is not equally exhausting for everyone.
To help people on the streets through the heat, the Ministry of Family Affairs, the Ministry of Health, and stakeholders from the social sector have temporarily expanded their services since Monday. Among other things, opening hours at the various support facilities for vulnerable people have been extended.
This was so that people could take a shower and find somewhere to cool down, Family Affairs Minister Max Hahn explained.
The day centre at Findel, which usually serves as part of the winter campaign, has also been brought back into use to provide services.
The temporary measures apply in Luxembourg City, in Ettelbruck, and in Esch-sur-Alzette, where the organisation Stëmm vun der Strooss is also active. The association has extended its opening hours until 9pm.
Alexandra Oxacelay, director of Stëmm vun der Strooss, took stock of the first two days. A total of 337 people had made use of the service, she said, and she expected even more to return over the weekend. People, in any case, were very pleased, Oxacelay noted.
The teams set up the extended service over the weekend. Visitors are also being given water and salads and can come in to cool off in the late afternoon.
There is always more that could be done, Oxacelay added, especially with extra staff. The ideal, in her view, would have been to be able to cook meals in the evenings or offer showers.
Speaking with RTL, a young man on site said everything was great at Stëmm vun der Strooss, with just one thing missing, namely air conditioning.
Heatwaves of this kind could become more common in future. The current red alert runs until Friday, but if it had to be extended, the government would be ready.
According to Family Minister Max Hahn, if the forecast temperatures held, people could count on the Family and Health ministries to be there for people living on the streets, together with municipalities and partners on the ground, Hahn said, looking ahead to the weekend.
For her part, Oxacelay said that what matters is raising awareness, and being able to step in immediately if someone is unwell, in order to prevent hyperthermia.
Five consecutive days of red alert is a first for Luxembourg, and a situation that often hits the most vulnerable hardest.
