In Tours, tiny houses to help the homeless to rebuild their lives

Until now in France, we knew the tiny houses, these famous tiny and mobile houses, as an original solution to the desires of mobility, freedom or even ecological decline of some of us. Today, it is estimated at nearly 1,000 the number of tiny houses present in France even if it isdifficult to give a precise figure.

A figure to which we will have to add the 7 “tiny” ones installed near Marmoutier, in Tours, on a former campsite on the banks of the Loire. A place now called La Maison and which also offers 6 caravans, sanitary facilities and a common dining room. Here, people who live on the streets can temporarily find decent housing and social support 24 hours a day.

On the accommodation side, the tiny houses are equipped with a kitchen, cupboards, a bathroom and a raised bed to allow residents to come with one or more pets. But what counts above all, underlines Christelle Dehghani, director of the Entraide et Solidarités association at the initiative of the project, “It’s to be able to feel safe in a place where you want to put your luggage down at a given moment and work afterwards”.

So a little well-being, kindness, but also social support, this is what residents can find here: “We want to get them to reopen their rights, the RSA for example”, explains Xavier Gabillaud, director of employment, labor and solidarity in Indre-et-Loire. “We also work on health issues and propose a start-up. We are certainly far from employment for the moment for a certain number. But we are thinking of integration through economic activity”.

Finally, with this project, the small mobile homes regain their initial “vocation”, namely to welcome people in difficulty. Indeed, tiny houses appeared in 2005 in the United States after the passage of Hurricane Katrina. Then in 2008, they enabled families hit hard by the subprime crisis to find emergency housing.

An emergency that is felt in France, especially in winter, when people who live in the street do not find a place in collective accommodation homes or refuse to go there. The health crisis has accentuated the difficulties of access to these emergency housing. A year ago, the public authorities therefore launched a call for innovative solutions for the accommodation of these “excluded people”. In Tours, the project of the Entraide et Solidarités association was selected among around forty others in France. A project supported by the prefecture, the city and the regional health agency.

But to implement it, we had to fight on several levels. First to find the land. After months of fruitless research, it was finally a municipal site (and former campsite) located on the banks of the Loire, Quai de Marmoutier, which was selected, a little in desperation. As the place is liable to flooding, Entraide et Solidarités has therefore opted for structures that are easy to move. Hence the choice of tiny houses! Manufactured by a local carpenter, these small studios on wheels are funded to the tune of € 800,000 by the State. The city of Tours therefore provides the land and the Entraide et Solidarités association takes care of the rest.

This is for the financing and implementation component. The other big “piece” was the reaction of residents living near this land located to the east of the Sainte-Radegonde park. The outcry was very real as recounted in this article by France-Bleu of October 12. In a public meeting, residents expressed their reluctance (the word seeming weak in view of the comments made) not so much about the project but about its location: “It’s a great project, confided a retiree, but not with us. We have already had trouble with Travelers so we do not want to fall into insecurity yet. These people are out of control “. Thierry Lecomte, deputy mayor of the Marmoutier district, does not deny this opposition. “The fears were related to the use of drugs, alcohol and noise. Thereupon, they were reassured. What has been proposed is a monthly follow-up with the elected representative. “

Despite these obstacles, the project was born and today, three people have already put their luggage at La Maison.