New stage for poorly housed families accompanied by the DAL38 association in Grenoble. After having invested the barracks of Bonne in June,. then the Red Room lent by the town hall until August 31, families and activists went in search of a new shelter. They now occupy the former nursery school Jean Macé, abandoned premises on rue Henri Tarze, near Grenoble train station. “These families decided to _meet their most urgent needs themselves_that is to say to take shelter, and therefore to requisition this building which belongs to the town hall“, explains Lucile, an activist from DAL38, who ensures that the town hall has been notified.
– Bastien Roque
Already on August 29, activists from the association and certain families demonstrated in front of the prefecture to demand solutions for the 80 families concerned according to them by poor housing. “It is the State that has all the keys in hand to meet the needs of these families.“, adds Lucile. “We also settle here to prove that in the agglomeration there are empty buildings left, and that the town hall, which supports us, can also mobilize in other ways to help them“. However, this is only an emergency solution for the activists: “We are not a hosting association, we do not want this place to become a de facto accommodation centre. The goal is to move on to concrete solutions, so that people can have access to sustainable and dignified places to live. This is not a solution, it’s just a way to organize“.
“We are asking for law enforcement.”
As for the families, Hamza, one of their representatives, reminds the State of its obligations: “We are asking for the application of the law. Most, if not all, have enforceable, priority hosting rights. We want the state to apply the laws, that’s all. These are people who have the right to be housed“. They have the feeling of not being heard by the prefecture. “We are looking for someone to come and decide for these families. There is no reason for children, for sick people to be homeless“.
– Bastien Roque
For him too, the old kindergarten represents a makeshift occupation than anything else. “It is not a solution, the Red Room was not either, nor the barracks of Bonne, nor the rest even before. Here it is not easy, but it’s always better than being outside. Winter is at least a door and a roof“A little over a year ago, around forty people were evacuated from a squat, rue Jean Macé this time, a few hundred meters away.