“Relearning to live in a home”

It is an old industrial building, located rue du Crosne in Nancy. Inside, eight “modular”, two caravans and a collective space with kitchen and dining room. Here is the Integration Village, inaugurated on January 20, and which is preparing to welcome its first inhabitants on January 31.

Here, 15 homeless people will be able to find a roof. It’s cold under the village hall but it’s very warm in every habitat. “We wanted extremely simple operation”, explains Gaëlle Zida, head of social service at the ARS, the association Reception and Social Reintegration, which carries the project. “We simply put a bed, a wardrobe, a fridge, a chair and private bathrooms. The idea is that everyone takes ownership of their accommodation.”

Investing in these places will only be not easy for previously homeless men and women. Aline Maitresse, director of the Emergency division of the ARS, knows this well: “It’s not easy to stabilize between four walls, whatever those four walls are. The objective is to offer a place where they are at home. And we professionals, we are there to accompany them to relearn how to live in a home.

These former homeless people will be able to stay in the Integration Village for as long as they wish. “The street is the emergency and the street is the danger, it is extremely difficult”, underlines Sylvain Mathieu, interministerial delegate for accommodation and access to housing, who came to the site.

“Being able not to be afraid, to be calm over the hours to come, is also to be able to project oneself and that is essential.” – Sylvain Mathieu, interministerial delegate

A Village designed as a springboard, why not, towards their own accommodation or towards a professional activity. This is a three-year experimental scheme, financed by the State. The future residents will be supported by eight professionals from the Reception and Social Reintegration association.