Can De Loods’s short move secure a lasting home for affordable household goods?

A move of only about one kilometre may appear modest, but continuity and accessibility are central to this kind of service. De Loods’s temporary location was the former director’s residence of the bankrupt Borremans timber business on the Herentalsebaan in Wommelgem. VRT NWS reported in 2024 that the building was destined for demolition and therefore offered no permanent solution. Furniture, meanwhile, had to be stored separately in a municipal warehouse in Emblem without water, electricity or sanitary facilities, making it unsuitable for receiving clients.

That fragmented arrangement followed the 2023 fire at the former military hangar on the Van den Nestlaan in Broechem. VRT NWS reported that De Loods was still assisting at least 200 to 300 people a year in 2024, with referrals coming from OCMWs across a broad part of Antwerp province, from Antwerp and Zoersel to Lier. Keeping the shop on the same main road should limit disruption for established visitors, although the exact accessibility of the new premises by public transport, bicycle, car or adapted transport has not yet been independently confirmed.

The move also matters to the volunteers who receive, sort and redistribute donated goods. Wereld-Delen describes itself as an autonomous volunteer organisation working in material assistance, language support, personal guidance and community activities. A local profile published through Samen Warm says more than 200 volunteers contribute across its different projects; that figure covers Wereld-Delen as a whole, not De Loods alone.

Residents who need clothing, furniture or basic household equipment should begin with the social service responsible for where they live. In Dutch-speaking municipalities this is the OCMW; in French it is the CPAS

A useful route is:

1. Contact the OCMW or CPAS of the commune or gemeente where you live and explain what essential goods you lack. 2. Ask specifically whether it can refer you to Sociale Winkel De Loods or to a comparable material-aid service closer to home. 3. Keep the referral or appointment details and confirm directly with De Loods where and when you should attend after the move. 4. If transport is difficult, ask the referring social worker whether delivery, adapted transport or another local provider is available; no general delivery entitlement has been confirmed for De Loods.

People making their first request for Belgian social assistance can also use CPAS Online. The federal government says the secure form is available in Dutch, French, German and English and forwards an official first application to the competent local centre. Applicants receive an email acknowledgement before a social worker follows up. The platform is helpful for newcomers who are still learning the local administrative vocabulary, but it does not itself grant access to De Loods: the relevant OCMW or CPAS still examines the request.

Language is particularly worth anticipating here. De Loods’s operating area and the municipalities around Borsbeek, Wommelgem and Ranst are in Flanders, so Dutch is the administrative language. An English- or French-speaking resident can nevertheless ask whether interpretation or language support is available. CPAS Online offers an English interface, while the names of documents and follow-up correspondence from a Flemish gemeente may remain in Dutch. In Antwerp city, the municipal portal directs new applicants to a sociaal centrum and offers information on income support, debt help and other welfare services.

Social shops sit between emergency relief, reuse and longer-term social support. Allowing clients to select appropriate goods can preserve more choice than a standard pre-packed donation. Yet the system also exposes charities to property costs, storage constraints and unstable recycling markets. In 2024, De Loods told VRT NWS that low prices for unusable textiles threatened to turn surplus clothing from a modest source of income into a disposal cost. Sorting is labour-intensive, and donated items that cannot be reused still have to go somewhere.

That tension explains why the new premises are important without resolving every difficulty. The reported move secures operational continuity, but the available sources do not establish the duration or financial terms of the occupancy, the building’s capacity, or whether all clothing, furniture and household-goods activities will be reunited on one site.

Before donating, visitors should therefore ask what De Loods currently accepts; unsolicited damaged furniture or unusable textiles can add costs rather than help. Before seeking goods, clients should verify their referral and appointment requirements. The next meaningful update will be the organisation’s confirmation of the full address, post-move opening hours, accessibility and donation rules. Until those details are published, the safest points of contact are De Loods through Wereld-Delen and the applicant’s own OCMW or CPAS.