Indre-et-Loire: a deputy shelters homeless people in his office

In Tours (Indre-et-Loire), a thousand people do not know where to sleep, especially children. Faced with this scourge, the local deputy transformed his office into emergency accommodation. A non-permanent solution, but no less beneficial. “We transformed this open space, which is a meeting room, into a sleeping room. A mother with her two little boys aged 4 and 5 [dort] here for twelve nights”, explains Charles Fournier, EELV deputy for Indre-et-Loire. Sheets were hung to demarcate a space of one’s own and maintain a semblance of privacy.

“I’m happy to be warm”

By this gesture, the elected official intends to alert people to the lack of places in dedicated structures. “A parliamentary office is not a neutral place. It is a place where the voice can perhaps speak louder. In Tours, as in many places in our country, there are children sleeping in the street”, indicates the parliamentarian. The father of a hosted Albanian family confides: “I’m happy to be warm. It gives me hope.”

The prefect of Indre-et-Loire, visiting a shelter which welcomes homeless people, refutes the inaction of the State. “State resources devoted to housing and monitoring the most disadvantaged people have more than doubled in ten years”assures Patrice Latron.