Mains libres : for and with the homeless
Paris 1er
People of no fixed abode in the Les Halles district can now have their hands free to give their full attention to their social reintegration.
It is not hard to imagine that homeless people are encumbered and stigmatised by their luggage, which they may lose or have stolen. The left-luggage depositories provided for their benefit are available for only a limited time and open only once or twice a week, so they cannot deposit all their luggage there to attend to their daily activities, such as administrative formalities, personal or health care or going to work.
Founded in June 2006, the association Mains libres, whose members are homeless individuals or people with a fixed abode and which is supported by specialised associations, opened its luggage depository in the Les Halles district of Paris in March 2007. It operates mornings and evenings and has adopted an approach that is innovative from three points of view: the analysis of the needs of those concerned, the fact that it has its roots in the district itself and its users' involvement in running it.
The Les Halles district has been the subject of an urban renewal project since 2002. In this context, a residents' association, Accomplir, which was aware of the large numbers of homeless people living in the district, considered what additional facilities could be provided to help meet their needs. One of its members, who is also a member of the ATD Fourth World movement and is involved in receiving people at the Café Rencontre drop-in centre set up by the Aux Captifs, la libération association, questioned a number of homeless people on the subject. Almost all of them said they wanted a place to put their luggage. This request appeared difficult to meet, but a scheme for depositing luggage in the 4th arrondissement provided the trigger for the necessary action. Accomplir, in partnership with other local associations, organised a theatre/debate evening (with the participation of Francis Cymbler) on the subject of "How can we involve the homeless in the life of our district?" with an audience numbering about a hundred, around ten of them homeless people. Two points emerged: confirmation of the interest in a luggage depository for the homeless and the need to involve them in the project: "We're fed up with people setting something up for us without asking us for our opinion."
A working group was set up comprising people with a fixed abode (members of Accomplir as well as members of the local neighbourhood councils and ordinary inhabitants), some of the homeless people who had participated in the theatre/debate evening and others who had gradually joined the team. The specialised associations working in the district (Emmaüs and Aux Captifs, la libération, as well as the soup kitchen Soupe Saint-Eustache, Conférence Saint-Vincent de Paul and the La Clairière social centre) also joined the movement. Together, this small group initiated several fact-finding missions concerning existing luggage depositories, the left-luggage facilities commercially available (SNCF left-luggage lockers, the storage facility Une pièce en plus, etc) and needs (market survey conducted with the help of a CNRS researcher among 49 homeless people living in the district, partly carried out by the homeless members of the team). Several people offered their expertise: Emmaüs street workers with regard to the living conditions of the homeless in the district, the former president of Soupe Saint-Eustache in respect of the management of voluntary workers, and the district police chief when it came to security issues and managing the surroundings of the facility.
The main subject discussed at the meetings was the modus operandi of the future facility: the decision to enlist the aid of voluntary workers only, to open twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening), to have open compartments that were secured by a grille and were sufficiently large (half a cubic metre), and to provide ? why not? ? a reception area with a café. On the other hand, in order to avoid the location being turned into a shelter there were to be no showers or washing machines. Questions were raised on a very large number of points by individuals with a fixed abode and solutions were proposed by the homeless. After several months, the Mains libres association was set up, with an executive board consisting of six homeless people, six people with a fixed abode and four representatives of partner associations. The president is a person with a fixed abode and the three vice-presidents are homeless. The rules of procedure were drawn up (by a homeless person), debated for several months and amended by the General Assembly before being passed unanimously. Delegations of homeless people and people with a fixed abode submitted a file in June 2006 to the mayors of the first four arrondissements, to the member of parliament for the Paris Centre constituency and to the Mayor of Paris and his deputies. Support was unanimous and the Paris City Council made premises available. Parallel to this, funding for the investment was sought in the form of corporate sponsorship.
The premises identified were a former 135 square metre day nursery located in buildings that had been due to be demolished under the Les Halles renovation scheme and were easy to make secure. In the meantime, this location had been chosen by the City for the establishment of a temporary centre for voluntary associations but, thanks to the considerable efforts made, especially by the council of the Les Halles district, priority was given to the luggage depository. The decision was endorsed by the Paris Council on 12 February 2007 and the agreement entered into force on 1 March. The facilities were installed, with the help of homeless people and individuals with a fixed abode, between 1 and 3 March and the depository opened on 5 March.
The most regular new users were quickly offered the opportunity to become voluntary workers and around fifteen have already agreed and been co-opted. Like the volunteers in the group with a fixed abode, they have an electronic swipe card that enables them to open the door to the premises themselves during opening hours. While most of those with a fixed abode are on duty only once, the homeless group, who have more time, generally cover several periods, so that during virtually all the opening hours the depository is staffed by volunteers. The elected homeless people play their full part in the work of the executive board and some pay particular attention to ensuring compliance with the rules of procedure.
The mere fact of taking part in such a project has led to a sense of individual and collective pride among the homeless members of the association: "Now I've got my self-respect back." "When you're sitting around a table and looking for the solution to a problem together, there's no difference between homeless people and those who have somewhere to live".
From the very early stages of the project, contacts were established between the homeless and the public: "Before, people passed me in the street and completely ignored me. For them, I was less than nothing. Since I've been taking part in this project, with Mains libres, many people in the neighbourhood have begun to recognise me and talk to me."
While the project is run collectively by people either with or without a fixed abode, it is the homeless who feel particularly motivated to ensure its success: "I want the project to work and I want the City, which has given us the premises, and those who gave us financial backing to realise they were right to trust us".
Mains libres is thus beginning to be part of the local voluntary network: the association is going to have a stand at the neighbourhood flea market and participate in the local festival as a co-organiser together with three other associations. At the opening ceremony (in May), the homeless members even expressed the desire to go further, in particular by beginning to engage in commercial activities, with a stand selling fair-trade products. This shows the impact of the luggage depository in integration terms.
The Mains libres luggage depository has proved that it is innovative in three ways: in addition to providing an efficient service for the homeless, it is succeeding in integrating these people into the life of the district through a socially committed approach and in giving them real recognition and dignity.
