Wage war on misery

To those who sleep outside, regardless of the hosting structure, one principle has always been applied: accommodations are only available for the night. Each morning, men and women were condemned to spend the day outside, on the streets, begging, drinking.

By creating Solidarity Shops, the Foundation is committed to developing day reception: it’s a matter of offering dedicated premises where those suffering from exclusion can find some human warmth in addition to social support. By weaving again the lost social threads, this step should allow the reversal of the exclusion process and the favouring of planning life anew.

By having access to inclusion and integration workshops where they are guided in their search for housing, steady employment and administrative undertakings, the hosted persons can then gain “access to their rights as well as their duties as citizens”.

“Access to their rights as well as their duties as citizens”

The hosted persons can also enjoy self improvement workshops: photography, football, café-philo… And last but not least, taking into consideration the deteriorating health of many homeless persons, the Solidarity Shops put at their disposal medical support possibilities. It is important to understand that the aim of the Shops is not to offer some miracle solution to misery, but rather to provide the necessary means to help those suffering from exclusion in the ongoing reintegration process.