During the night from Thursday to Friday, the Night of Solidarity took place, an operation to count the people living on the streets. The goal is to assess their needs and then improve the aid systems. Last year in Paris, 3,507 homeless people were counted.
Near the Léo Lagrange metro station. This small team goes to meet the homeless.
It’s 10 p.m. and they need to count all the homeless people tonight.
The parking lots, the porches, the tunnels, every corner where the homeless can shelter is carefully checked. And tonight, it’s not easy to spot the destitute, often wary and hiding when they see the volunteers. But around 11 p.m., a first encounter takes place. A person is sleeping under a tent.
«Would you like some soup?» a volunteer offers. «I’d like a coffee,» the homeless person responds. Under the tent, a 49-year-old man, sick, has been on the streets since 2021.
«He’s trying to get back on his feet but obviously, he feels like he can’t find the tools or the right resources and isn’t being supported. So it’s always a bit delicate in this kind of situation. We try to direct him to resources, see if he’s being followed by a social worker, see where he is in these steps,» explains Claire Turnbull, a volunteer for the French Red Cross.
To cover the city, more than 80 volunteers were dispatched to City Hall a few hours earlier. A mobilization for the fourth time in Villejuif, an operation deemed necessary but tinged with bitterness as precarity is increasing.
«The situation of homelessness is deepening year after year. The reason is simple. There aren’t enough emergency shelters. There aren’t enough housing units built, and conversely, the government typically, the 2026 budget is still almost a billion euros that will be taken from the state’s coffers,» laments Antonin Coins, deputy mayor of Villejuif, responsible for social action and solidarity (PCF).
Last year, throughout the Île-de-France region, the Night of Solidarity teams met over 4,000 people living on the streets. A job to adjust the needs of the homeless and sometimes provide emergency shelter.
A. Blanchard, N. Métauer N. Matigot A. Cohen France 3 Paris Île-de-France
Il n’y a pas assez de logements construits et à rebours de ça, le gouvernement typiquement, le budget 2026, c’est encore presque un milliard d’euros qui va être ponctionné dans les caisses de l’État», déplore Antonin Coins, adjoint au maire de Villejuif, chargé de l’action sociale et aux solidarités (PCF).
L’année dernière, dans toute l’Île de France, les équipes de la Nuit de la Solidarité ont rencontré plus de 4 000 personnes à la rue. Un travail pour ajuster les besoins des sans domicile et parfois procéder à une mise à l’abri d’urgence.
A. Blanchard, N. Métauer N. Matigot A. Cohen France 3 Paris Île-de-France
Deja una respuesta