CALICO in lockdown
Like the rest of Europe, Brussels was not spared by the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-March, the Belgian authorities took the necessary quarantine measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Although the measures have already been relaxed slightly at this point, many of them will remain in place until at least the beginning of June. All this has meant that some of the ongoing work of the CALICO project has been placed “on hold,” for example, much of the construction work has been (partially) halted, future residents have not met, etc. Fortunately, however, this does not mean that the project is completely on hold, for example, a lot of work is still being done where the current situation allows.
The pandemic also has a special resonance for the CALICO project and shows once again the importance of the project for the different partners. For example, CALICO wants to make affordable housing possible in the future and right now a lot of people find themselves trapped in unacceptable housing conditions, where moisture problems are present, where people sometimes live with too many people, and where the majority of landlords still expect their monthly rent despite current economic conditions. And even worse is the situation with people who currently have no place of their own to stay in quarantine. CALICO proposes an intergenerational housing project with extra attention to the elderly, and they represent a group that today is greatly affected by the current situation, not only in terms of health, but also in terms of social isolation. Also, CALICO is a project with a focus on gender equality; women are affected by insecurity and housing deprivation in society more than men, to which is added now that the lock-down has caused an increase in domestic violence. Finally, CALICO wants people to live in an environment of mutual care, where people can enter and leave life in a safe, healthy and warm place. A lot of people suffering from COVID-19 today do not currently have access to such an environment.
All CALICO project managers today continue to work hard from home to make progress wherever possible. They continue to work on the development of this innovative residential formula to contribute to a better society. The legal solution for the sale of the apartments is being finalized in collaboration with legal experts. The partners are also in contact with the developer to adjust the building plans where necessary. Interviews with future residents were conducted in time for the proclamation of the lockdown and the final selection is currently underway. The “care committee” is hard at work putting together a system by which care professionals, volunteers and residents can work together to create a new form of neighborly care. Work is also in progress to create the CALICO website, on which the ins and outs of the project will be collected. Finally, we keep in regular contact within the CALICO team thanks to regular video conferences, as illustrated by the group photo from our last steering committee! Of course, we try to stay in touch with our future residents as much as possible. Marie-Ange, future resident of the CLTB housing cluster, shared her impression of the lockdown and how it relates to CALICO : “With the current situation, we find ourselves ‘in the middle’ of the core of the CALICO project: with the closeness of death, which sometimes can only be supervised from a distance; with the children born today, sometimes without the presence of their father; and with the need and demand for informal and formal care that supports life…”
With the current situation, we expect the building to be delivered later than expected and this will obviously affect when the residents move in. Nevertheless, it is important to mention that this is certainly not a threat to the entire project, so the current situation will not prevent us from bringing CALICO to a successful conclusion and thus Brussels from offering an innovative housing project with permanently affordable housing, and where attention to care, gender, and important stages of life such as death and birth, are central.