Nantes

" Because life ... life ... In Spain, I had problems . Problems with ... the mother of my daughter. I know what it is to have a wife drinking, drinking and drinking again and who put you in trouble every day. So I decided to leave the country because social services removed her the custody of our child. She and I were not longer living together. I decided to come and live here, in France, to look for a job, to recover the custody of my daughter. Because in Spain without a job, it is impossible that they give me custody. If there is no money, there is no life. In Spain, there is a law in favor of women. The man is completely set aside, without any protection. What matters is what the woman says. My daughter is not 15 years old, no, she's only 3 years old. The best of my daughter, I 'm missing it. What is this life? But you cannot put out the fire, I just have to move forward. "

" I thought of the Night Stop when you're on the street, it is a safety to have a meal every night , access to sanitation, to be able to do paperwork, or just relax. It's having a place to be listened or  to talk, to rediscover the taste for life and even to be happy, to laugh and to learn to live in community, to include respect , politeness, sharing, forgiveness that I lost a little bit. "

 

 

"Somfy's ambition is to offer solutions for "a better housing, accessible to all". Housing is so fundamental, it is an intimate place into the heart of our personal lives. Joining the Group's ambition, means to deal with the Somfy Foundation, for those with inadequate housing or homeless.

I therefore undertake alongside the teams of the Somfy Foundation to:

1 - Mobilize our teams and our partners around the Foundation & missions

2 - Develop the availability of teams to participate in missions of human sponsorship alongside the Foundation

3 - Make skills of Somfy France employees available to the Foundation whenever it is necessary for the development of this project."

Bruno Barlet, Managing Director for Somfy France

LES EAUX VIVES'S ASSOCIATION

Lambert van Dinteren worked as a volunteer for ATD Fourth World Movement and is currently director of the Emergency Housing Division of Les Eaux Vives Association. He has been involved in the 5Ponts adventure since the beginning of the project. Here is a testimony of his ten years  of experience.

"I discovered the Claire Fontaine day shelter and the 24bis shelter of Les Eaux Vives associations. In 2006 the residents were people in great difficulty, mostly homeless.  Some very committed volunteers and employees worked there.

Both these structures were warm and human and that was the most important thing for me.

However it was a temporary home to people on the margins of society.. The people who are accomadated there are also totally dependent on the goodwill of the structure.

All these conditions really make me wonder.  Father Joseph Wresinski, founder of ATD Fourth World, has proven that when we approach people through their problems, they will always feel inferior and will remain fragile and on the margins  And Abbe Pierre, founder of Emmaus, has proven that when a person in need, helps another person with even more problems, both of them benefit.

From then on, we started to organize regular meetings with the people in these two structures. In the beginning, it was a mess, but step by step we managed to listen to each other, share our point of view without conflict, respect the agenda and move forward on our concrete projects.

In 2009, two people in great difficulty said "We are treated like dogs, this will never change, unless there is  a place where we can meet people, and they can see that we are just normal people having a hard time.

From that moment on, the 5Ponts project gradually took form. Very quickly we came across 2 challenges:

o Create a place where we can meet and share - to overcome being excluded and "labeled".

o Find a way for the center to be useful to the neighbourhood by creating activities that engage the occupants.

These expectations  forced us to work internally with the board of directors, volunteers, employees and users. Then the elected officials of the city of Nantes got involved. Overseas study tours and workshops were organized and partnerships were created.

The project is expanding. There will be a restaurant open to the neighborhood, and also a shop, terraces, gardens, a start-up platform and hopefully even an urban farm on the roof!  In Nantes Les Eaux Vives association is not alone. Other associations are the Emmaus community, SAMO housing,  the city services and the University Hospital, AIDES, etc. We are no longer talking about a "reception center for homeless", but a real  "neighborhood solidarity" urban project.

The most important aspect of this project is that the people were an integral part of the project and could voice their opinion. The thing to remember is that homeless people can become an actor of a social project, in the right circumstances."