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Fratries is a solidarity project that aims to think about coliving differently, by including young people with cognitive or mental disabilities. In this shared apartment, disabled and able-bodied people live in harmony.
For Étienne, head of the house, Fratries represents “the image of the society we would like, that is to say living together despite our differences”. In this co-living space, five disabled young people and five able-bodied young people share the same roof. Everyone has their own space but the goal of the project is to live and share moments together.
A family project
For young people with disabilities, this project is the way to emancipate themselves. For Axelle, living her whole life with her parents was unthinkable. “When I found out that a house was opening in April, I was immediately overjoyed. It was thanks to Siblings that I started to realize that I had to learn to do things without help.”. The project also supports employment: “Every young person with a disability needs to be supported in all aspects of their life and work is one of them.”, confides Etienne.
For able-bodied people, living in this co-living”brings a lot of good humor. We spend very good moments and it creates a closeness”, according to Mathieu, resident. For Jérémy, also a resident of the house, it is also “realize that there are things that are very ordinary for us, like having a job, which for them is something exceptional”.
In this colocation, everyone finds their balance. “Thanks to the auxiliaries who come to take care of the young people, we really have a fairly easy bond. We don’t have charges totally vis-à-vis our roommates”, explains Aurélie, resident. Because here, the able-bodied inhabitants pay a market price as in any shared apartment. “They are not there to help roommates with disabilities because there are four professionals who are there for that. They are really here to live like in any roommate”adds Etienne.