W13 is an OCMW association of the 13 OCMWs in South West Flanders and the CAW South West Flanders. W13 was founded in 2015 with the aim of conducting a joint social welfare and care policy for the region.

Main Areas of  Work

• Children and young people
• Children at risk of social exclusion
• Homeless
• Elderly
• People with addiction
• People with physical disabilities
• People with mental disabilities
• Mental health
• Public Health
• Social justice
• People who are socially vulnerable
• People in situations of difficulty or precarity
• Migrants
• Beneficiaries of minimum income
• Poverty

Responsibilities/ Services

• Providing social services
• Transformation of care models
• Promotion of systemic change
• Role of the social worker
• Issuing of guidelines and policies for the district’s councils
• Training of social welfare workforce
• Maintaining networks for managers and social workers
• Management of public nursing homes and day centres for the elderly
• Home care services for the elderly and dependent people
• Residential services for victims of gender-based violence
• Socio-educational services for children at risk of social exclusion
• Specialised intervention services as meeting points for children, victims of violence, and their families
• Consulting services and specialised studies for local governments regarding elderly facilities
• Assistance in cases of energy poverty
• Fostering cooperation with non-governmental organisations and the promotion of social volunteering
• Research/ identifying and monitoring of social problems
• Representing and defending interests of their members