thousands of children will go back to school while sleeping rough

Alla is in a hurry: to carry her new satchel for the start of the school year. “It was mum who bought it for me. I have the blue color, with a cat”, describes the child. A year ago, she was living with her brother and sister, in her Sudanese parents’ car, in Lyon. “We learned that two families from the nursery school were sleeping rough”explains Fanny Talbot, a teacher who is launching the mobilization with her colleagues, faced with this situation “insupportable”.

“Fifteen days before the Christmas holidays, we decided, with the collective ‘Never without a roof’, to occupy the school because it was starting to get really very cold.”

Fanny Talbot, teacher

at franceinfo

The two families slept in the school’s multipurpose room, “for two weeks on sports mattresses”, specifies Fanny Talbot at the microphone of franceinfo. For this start of the 2022 school year, 50,000 children will return to school without having permanent accommodation, living in social hotels, squats or slums. According to the last association census of August 22, 1,658 minors were unable to obtain accommodation after calling 115 and therefore slept outside, under tents directly on the sidewalk.

For Alla’s parents, the school gymnasium is history. The Lyon collective “Never without a roof” has accelerated the process for the family to obtain their own apartment, close to the school. “A big house, two bedrooms, that’s good”rejoices the mother of Alla. “And there are plenty of games”adds Alla. “There, it’s a bit of the ideal course, I want to say that unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen like that”laments the teacher.

In fact, 45 other families are still homeless in the Lyon metropolitan area, which means that around a hundred children in Lyon will return to school without permanent housing. This is the case of this Albanian family: “My name is Merlida, I live in a tent”. At 11, Merlida has been living for a few days in a camp, just next to the Lyon-Part Dieu station, with her mother and her little sister, Ruensa, 7 years old. they sleep “on the ground“, under a tent canvas with just a carpet. “There are suitcases, there are no toys”describes Ruensa, who looks ahead to the month of September: “I’m waiting for school”.

“School is even more important for these children, because it is the only way out. These are children who are exhausted, who fall asleep in class and therefore do not have the same chance than others.”

Fanny Talbot, teacher

at franceinfo

“You can clearly see the difference: when the situation becomes stable, the children change their attitude fairly quickly in class, it’s the best reward”, adds Fanny Talbot. Last year, a hundred students from the metropolis of Lyon were thus sheltered, after teachers and parents of students occupied the school. A mode of action and a fight that these Lyon associations now want to extend to the whole of France. The collective “Never without a roof” launches on August 30 a national network with the FCPE, to better identify and permanently relocate these families.