In Toulon, the Foundation supports an exemplary system of access to housing which allows 7 wandering people to leave the street each year.
This system carried by the housing pole accompanied by the association “Itinova” and the day care “Archaos” allows homeless people in the Toulon area to access housing and stay there after several years of street life.
Since 2016, the “De Toit à Moi” scheme has aimed to support 7 people each year to and in housing. Currently, several young people who have left Social Assistance for Children (ASE) are requesting this device. Home visits, collective workshops and individual follow-up by a multidisciplinary team (social workers, psychologist, etc.) help each person to achieve autonomy in housing and independence.
Eventually, in the form of a sliding lease, young people and adults become tenants.. “The innovative idea is to get into housing and make progress. Housing is the purpose and the means of construction and integration ”, specifies Nathalie Germain, educator specializing in “Itinova”.
27 years old, moved in early February in a studio of 18m2, in downtown Toulon. He attends the “Archaos” day care center every morning, which is what he calls his “second family”. There, he takes his breakfast and his mail, while waiting to become the tenant in a few months.
“I lived on the streets for 8 years. Sleeping outside every day is hard… I landed on the street when I was 19. Finding yourself in accommodation, all alone after that, is not easy. I was afraid at first for the rent, the bills… Little by little, thanks to Nathalie’s help, I managed. I am proud of what I managed to do, this accommodation has changed my life, it allowed me to look for work and today I have a few temporary assignments.
When we are on the street, we have other worries than looking for work… Today, I feel safe at home. In 4 months, the lease will be in my name, I maintain my accommodation, it is well equipped, I live alone and I am well. “
Jessie, 48, left the “De Toit à Moi” scheme at the start of 2020. He is now a tenant in the Toulon private park and employed on a full-time permanent contract with an organ restorer.
“I left the device housing after 2 years. I had had time to rebuild myself and look for a job. Today, I have a job and it is thanks to the device that I had the time to find it. When we are on the street, we have other priorities than employment.
Without a fixed address, when we move often and move from one hostel to another, we cannot have a normal life. An administrative domiciliation is not enough. Fortunately, this device exists, especially in Toulon, there are few emergency accommodation and you have to see in what state they are… ”
When he was in the “De Toit à Moi” scheme, Jessie, in a disabled situation, got involved and wanted to participate in the working group dedicated to improving housing, particularly in terms of equipment and accessibility.
“It was important for me to get involved and participate in the development of this system”, he emphasizes.
Source https://www.fondation-abbe-pierre.fr/actualites/de-toit-moi
Courtesy of Jean-Paul Jambon Departmental Representative Var
Abbé Pierre Foundation
Photo credits: DR
