Mission The homeless and poorly housed
Number of homeless in France : 86,500 people (source Insee, Institute for economic and statistical information, 2001)
Number of poorly housed : 3.2 million (source Abbé Pierre Foundation, 2006)
Common conditions : Respiratory infections, asthma, anxiety-stress-somatic problems, depression, gum and teeth problems, gastric problems, back problems, parasites/candidosis, skin infections, high blood pressure...
Number of projects : 24
Number of volunteers : 324
Beneficiaries : 21,000
Contacts with homeless : approx. 10,000, 17.8% of people seen in CASOs are homeless, and 43.4% live in insecure housing
Characteristics of homeless seen in CASOs : 26% are women, 60% are under 35, 8.6% are minors, 75% do not have the right to sickness cover
Funding : Regional public health groups, General Councils, Regional Councils, Town Councils...
Partners : Abbé Pierre Foundation, Secours Catholique, Emmaüs, Red Cross, Restos du Coeur, Samu Social, DAL, local organisations (La Péniche, les Amis de la rue, le Fournil, le GAF, Enfants du Monde Droits de l’Homme…)
Housing is a fundamental right. However, many people still do not have access to this right. In France, there are almost 3,261,600 people who are homeless or very poorly housed. In 2006, our distribution of more than 400 tents to people living in very precarious conditions was one of the detonators of the current public debate on this issue. Despite governmental claims, the large majority of patients seen by MdM-France are homeless or live in insecure accommodation.
Victims of social exclusion
(Angoulême, Ajaccio, Bordeaux, Calais, Grenoble, Le Havre, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Montpellier, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Poitiers, Réunion (St. Denis), Strasbourg, Toulouse, Valenciennes)
Activities :
Realising the right to housing
Since 1993, our mobile teams have been reaching out to homeless people who are often weakened and marginalised and have difficulties accessing mainstream services.
The objectives are:
• to identify vulnerable people who need to be accompanied to mainstream health and welfare services and relevant voluntary sector services;
• to organise medical, social and prevention consultations;
• to inform people of their rights and to accompany them, if necessary;
• to receive people who do not have access to healthcare in MdM healthcare centres, until they can realise their right to access healthcare.
Based on our work on the ground across France throughout the year, MdM bears witness to the damaging health consequences of being homeless or living in poor housing. We also provide follow up through our outreach teams on patrol, provide medical consultations in shelters, healthcare beds in shelters etc…
Outlook :
• To continue our healthcare, prevention and accompaniment activities.
• To continue lobbying institutions to respond to the needs of homeless people and to develop mobile institutional teams.
• To begin the withdrawal of volunteer teams from the ‘healthcare beds’ facilities which are increasingly being integrated into mainstream services.
Types of work :
• Medical and social consultations, street outreach work: Ajaccio, Angoulême, Le Havre, Lyon, Montpellier, Marseille, Metz, Nice, Paris, Poitiers, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Valenciennes.
• Medical consultations for homeless people in ‘healthcare beds’ facilities: Bordeaux, Grenoble, Lyon, Strasbourg.
• Consultations with other organisations (Restos du coeur, Salvation Army, Abbé Pierre shops,Secours Catholique, Aides, Point Ecoute Santé Jeunes…) : Grenoble, Le Havre, Lyon, Metz, Nancy, Nantes, Reunion, Toulouse, Valenciennes.
• Consultations in emergency shelters: Lyon, Metz, Nantes, Nice, Toulouse.
• Health and social activities in squats: Bordeaux, Calais, Paris.
• Mobile mental health teams: Marseille.
August 2008