The association “100 for 1” met yesterday in front of the Church of Notre-Dame-la-Grande in Poitiers, to raise awareness among Poitevins about its action. Since 2016
, it organizes the accommodation of undocumented migrants in accommodation paid for thanks to solidarity! The principle is simple: if 100 citizens donate five euros, one month’s rent is paid, and so on…Volunteers then accompany the families on a daily basis for the administrative procedures, the schooling of the children and the integration. On Saturday October 8, volunteers and migrants formed a star together with a rope on Place Charles de Gaulle, to show the ties that unite them.
Along the ropes, passers-by were invited to hang a yellow scarf, to create other links. Ruzanna, an Armenian immigrant who holds one of the points of the star, explains: “We are here to tell people that there are links between us, that we are all the same, regardless of our nationality“. She fled the war in Armenia with her husband and her daughter and she has been hosted for a year by the association “100 for 1”: “We were asylum seekers, but they found that our problem was not serious enough that we could return home. But that’s out of the question, especially now with the war in Armenia.”
Housing for families of migrants without rights
The family therefore hopes to obtain a residence permit, like all those helped by the association, explains Emmanuelle Devaux, co-president of the association in charge of the Poitiers sector: “The goal is to shelter them so that the children can have a normal schooling, and that the parents regain their role as parents. Once they have a residence permit, the families leave the association”. Since the launch of the association “twelve have already taken flight“, she rejoices.
© Radio France
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Juliette Geay
The number of families in need of housing has not increased in Vienna with the Ukrainian conflict, as Ukrainian refugees benefit from a special status and housing solutions, either by the state or in private homes. The “100 for 1” association deals more with Kosovar, Sudanese or Guinean families. It supports them when their asylum application has been rejected, which makes them very vulnerable: “without papers, help or rights“, summarizes Emmanuelle Devaux.
22 families accommodated in Vienne
Today, the association hosts 22 families in Vienne: 15 in Poitiers, five in Châtellerault and two in Loudun. “100 for 1” is still looking for donations to house two new families.
“We are asking people to make a long-term commitment since we rent apartments, so we are asking them to commit for two years. They can give whatever they want per month: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 euros… It’s tax deductible at 75%“, explains Emmanuelle Devaux again. “Individuals can also rent apartments from us, and they benefit from tax advantages“, continues the head of the association, who is looking for apartments “around 350 euro“. For each family accommodated, the association pays more: “550 almost 600 euros for rent, all charges and insurance“, concludes Emmanuelle Devaux.