The start of the winter holidays: in Nîmes and the Gard, the lack of emergency accommodation is already shining

From this Friday 1^Yes November, the first day of the winter holidays, the Samu social, which is part of the Red Cross and manages emergency accommodation in particular, does the case seven days a week -week, instead of five days a week, in the Gard. An additional employee will be hired, on a fixed-term, full-time basis, to strengthen the team, which rises from two to three employees until March 31, 2025. “Our climate is mild, admits Malik Berkani, director of the Red Cross Anti-Exclusion Center (Plex). But we are already alerted to be able to assess more quickly the conditions of people who are reported to us on the street, especially when it is cold. »
Requests for accommodation, especially from people living in their cars or outside, who are more sensitive to the cold, are starting to arrive. “This week we sheltered a family that was living in a garage in Nîmes. “

251 applications out of 2,419 applications were filled

In September, 2,419 requests for emergency accommodation were registered in the Gard region, “most of them in Nîmes”, specifies Malik Berkani. That is 2,500 calls to 115, from which the Red Cross Integrated Reception and Guidance Service (SIAO) directs people to the street. “Of these 2,419 requests, 45% were fulfilled, resulting in shelter for 251 people.” Two possible accommodation solutions: either in night shelters managed by the SOS group, or in hotels approved by 115, if there is saturation. However, 200 people were accommodated in hotels in September. “We always find shelter for people in dire straits, but 55% of applications remain unfulfilled!”
Demands for emergency accommodation are increasing. “The budget for hotel nights, in 2018, when I arrived, was €500,000. Today, it is €2.5 million. “ 73% of unfilled applications are due to lack of space. “The winter holidays are undoubtedly good news,” said Emmanuel Appy, regional vice-president of the Red Cross, “But we never have enough accommodation for everyone.”
“And we will not be able to reverse the trend in the coming years,” warns Malik Berkani.
Samu social identified 93 victims of violence, most of them in the family, in August (latest figure available), including 54 women and 15 children.

Deterioration of human health

There are many people who are badly at home in the region today. “This is a result of past crises. People have been evicted from their homes at the age of 70, others are living precariously, in campers. They don’t always think to call 115.”
Since 2018, overall, people’s health has declined. “There is a need for a lot of collaboration with hospital services, for example Five years ago, that did not exist. with doctors.
Emergency accommodation number, call 115.

Red Cross duvet work in December

The Gard delegation of the French Red Cross will set up two days of duvet collection, from 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday December 7 and 14, in front of the Saint-Paul church, boulevard Victor-Hugo, in Nimes. “Why duvets? We didn’t create them, that’s what people on the street want us to do, explains Emmanuel Appy, regional vice-president of the Red Cross Guard delegation. The blanket slides, you can be bitten by it. A sleeping bag is harder.” The Red Cross contacted companies, including a well-known clothing and sports brand, to take part in the operation. People could get sleeping bags there for the collection, if they don’t bring their own sleeping bag.“We are going to ask businesses and the city of Nîmes to be a gathering place for town halls. “ Operation “gardo gardoise” which would be the first. And maybe also the opportunity to recruit volunteers.