In Antwerp, 40.7 percent of those who lost unemployment benefit now receive a leefloon - far above the Flemish average
If you lost your unemployment benefit this year, the odds of ending up on a leefloon vary a great deal depending on which city you live in. In Antwerp, 5,822 people have lost their unemployment benefit so far. Of those, 2,777 applied for a leefloon at the OCMW and 2,368 were granted one, which means 40.7 percent of everyone who lost their benefit now receives it. That is well above the Flemish average of 34.3 percent, and Antwerp is the only one of the province's centre cities to sit above that line. Nationally, about half of everyone who lost their benefit applied, and 44 percent received it.
The gap is partly about how each city organised itself. Joris Vanhove, spokesperson for Antwerp social affairs alderman Nathalie van Baren, says the city opened a central information desk, Coevelt, late last year, where people could bring all their questions. Staff could look at someone's details and advise them straight away not to submit an application where it was clear they would not qualify, which kept the number of applications relatively low. Of those who did apply, 85 percent were granted a leefloon. The city also processed applications in groups of fifteen with three social workers on hand, so people could fill in their files together with support, which sped up the handling.
The picture is different elsewhere in the province. In Turnhout, 536 people have lost their benefit, 193 applied and 153 were granted one - 28.5 percent. Social affairs alderman Kelly Verheyen says the city hired four full-time staff and now uses a simplified award procedure drawing on applicants' data from the Kruispuntbank, cutting processing time from 39 days to 19. Turnhout also ran information sessions not just for those affected but for schools, doctors and support workers, so people in difficulty could be referred quickly and correctly. In Mechelen, 804 people have lost their benefit, 337 applied and 234 were granted one, or 29 percent. Alderman Rina Rabau Nkandu says the city put on extra walk-in days before people actually lost their benefit, so they knew their rights in advance, and assigned six extra staff.
All three cities are pushing people towards work rather than long-term assistance. Antwerp has run two job fairs for people losing their benefit, and 641 people who were granted a leefloon no longer receive it because they have found work. Mechelen gives everyone applying for a leefloon personal guidance towards employment, using job fairs, volunteering opportunities and article 60 employment schemes. One warning is worth noting: Vanhove expects more people to qualify in the next wave, because although they are closer to the labour market and have been unemployed for less time, they are younger, often have less financial reserve and do not yet own a home. If your benefit is due to end, contacting your local OCMW before it stops is what these cities are advising.