Who is SAAMO?
SAAMO is a non-profit organization. This ASBL gathers about forty people on its various sites. They provide unquestionable support to vulnerable people and those in precarious situations in 3 areas:
- social protection
- Housing
- the work
SAAMO is mainly concerned with the respect of the fundamental rights of people in precarious situations.
SAAMO is present in Brussels and Namur.
What does SAAMO do?
Social inequalities make people more vulnerable. Social inequality leads to social exclusion.
The people working for SAAMO accompany people in vulnerable positions. SAAMO helps vulnerable people find solutions to problems related to their environment. The goal is to help these socially disadvantaged people regain control of their lives.
To maximize and optimize the process, they work closely with the inhabitants and build a society of solidarity.
In what areas does SAAMOS operate?
SAAMOS housing assistance
SAAMO allows people in precarious situations to have access to secure housing. Indeed, for a large number of vulnerable people, it is difficult to have access to housing. Landlords cannot be certain of rent payment or the certainty of having a rental guarantee.
There are solutions to avoid having to pay 2 months of rent on an escrow account. It is possible to create a rental guarantee online without blocking funds in the bank. This can be costly for people who are already struggling with food and shelter.
SAAMOS work assistance
SAAMOS strives to provide access to the labor market for many unskilled job seekers. They facilitate access to the labor market by finding stable employment for low-skilled people. This allows people in social precariousness to receive a salary and gives them social rights. It is also possible to get help in finding training in Flanders. This can be a great help when you want to know about the different courses offered.
Obtaining social protection
SAAMOS takes steps to ensure that people in precarious situations can benefit from decent social protection. The aim of these steps is to facilitate social integration.
SAAMOS cares about their health
Saamos enables vulnerable people to have access to basic medical care.
SAAMOS cares about education
They work for equal opportunities, especially for all young people living in homes or in extreme poverty. The goal is to give them access to education.
Saamos is a food hub
Many Flemish families do not have sufficient access to food. Saamos creates jobs to contribute to the social circular economy.
With the help of social workers, they significantly increase access to food for disadvantaged people. Food hubs are places where surplus food is revalued. Thanks to this optimization of these food initiatives, it allows people in a situation of great social vulnerability to feed themselves while avoiding that the surplus is thrown away.
What other social assistance is available?
Social real estate agencies (AIS)
They are intermediaries between landlords and prospective tenants. This concerns tenants who are in a precarious social situation and who need help to find housing.
ISAs offer quality housing at below-market prices. It provides security to the owner, particularly with regard to the regular payment of rent, the maintenance of the property and the granting of aid to renovate the property.
The tenant has regular monitoring of ISAs to ensure that they are meeting their commitments. The Social Real Estate Agencies take care of all the rental management which allows the owner and the tenant to be reassured.
People can get help from agencies and get assistance in renting housing.
The training insertion plan (PFI)
Future workers can benefit from a training program that meets the employer’s expectations. At the end of this training, the worker has the certainty of having an employment contract. The contract offered to him will be of the same duration as his initial training. The accepted duration is between 3 and 25 weeks.
To take advantage of this program, certain conditions must be met based on certain criteria:
- Having a disability;
- For those under 25 years of age: be registered as a job seeker for 1 year;
- For those over 25 years of age: registered as a job seeker for more than 2 years;
- Do not have a degree;
- Be registered as a job seeker on the date of application;
- Establishing your main residence in Belgium;
- In a situation of reintegration of the Inami.
Getting social assistance
In order to be eligible for social assistance, you must already have been living in the area where you are applying for social assistance for at least 3 months. This concerns people in social vulnerability or in a situation of disability. The social aid can be combined with other aid such as the Training and Integration Plan.
In conclusion, many actors are developing to reduce social vulnerability. The participation of the different municipalities helps to reduce inequalities.
Although there is still a long way to go to ensure that everyone has access to housing, work and social protection, we can see that this is becoming more and more important to local elected officials.
