un centre d’hébergement Emmaüs menacé de fermeture à Bordeaux
“I was very well received”. Since November 5, Patrick has been one of the 26 permanent residents of the Bacalan-Bouliac Accommodation and Social Reintegration Center (CHRS) d‘
Emmaus
, located in the Bacalan district of Bordeaux. The site is today threat of permanent closurefollowing an order from the prefect of Gironde, Fabienne Buccio.
Date of December 23, 2022 and workforce as of February 1, 2023it was taken in particular because of “failures in the conditions of organization, operation and material reception conditions”but also following “the absence of an action plan to improve the overall hygiene of the premises as well as the working conditions of the staff”explains the prefecture. “They do cleaning, work when needed … I have nothing to say”retorts Patrick. “Everyone knows it, we don’t hide from the old building, but it is not at all unsanitary. Everything is redone when people enter”abounds Sabrina, head of CHRS Bacalan-Bouliac since 2019.
The Emmaüs Gironde employee denounces a decision taken following “an inspection in September” premises, led by the Departmental Directorate of Employment, Labor and Solidarity
(DDETS) of the Gironde*, “only dependent”*. “It was a lot of photos of the structure, taken out of context. Because a stain on a 3 meter long wall, well…”. This inspection report, which has no “no leverage allowed” of the “malfunctions” noted according to the prefecture, “did not at all highlight the structure, nor the work we do on a daily basis or the resentment of the residents. Nothing was taken into account”says Sabrina. “And the state of the building is also linked to the problems that we encounter”she adds. “I even think that we welcome the most difficult public in Bordeaux”.
“Fighting for the Residents”
“We give everyone a chance”adds Amandine, social worker at CHRS Bacalan-Bouliac since 2019. “Here, people are at the heart of their support. Whether in the context of health, professional reintegration, learning to live again, shopping… We work with them, in the goal that they can leave safely.”
This is particularly the case for Gabriel, who has been staying at the Emmaüs center for two months. A “blessing” pour this “travelling computer technician” 47 years old, who calls himself “surprised without really being surprised” by the decision of the prefecture, “because the system is what it would like. What I want above all is the return of humanity, quite simply”. As for Patrick, the 38-year-old resident welcomed since November 5 and “his release from incarceration”he afraid of being on the street again if the CHRS closes its doors. “And what are we going to do? Become delinquents, take drugs, drink alcohol, robbery… It will get worse and worse”he predicted.
The prefecture promises rehousing
To prevent this situation from happening, social worker Amandine promises to “fight to the end, for the residents.” Like the Emmaüs Gironde lawyer, Me Sylvain Galinat
who will challenge the decree in the coming days before the administrative court. “We are going to fight a position that appears to us to be discourteous to say the least, taken on December 23, but also illegitimate and irregular, both in form and in substance”he specifies. “What I understand from this decree is that the State has decided to no longer finance social assistance in this way”still analyzes Me Galinat, which would “in great difficulty” the Gironde branch of the association “which has carried out its mission for a large number of years with the greatest possible care, thanks to overinvested employees”.
For its part, the Gironde prefecture says “to apply” until January 31, 2023 “to find a place in other structures” for residents of CHRS Bacalan-Bouliac. At the same time, a second decree, also dated December 23, was taken for withdrawal at Emmaüs Gironde the approval that allows it to accommodate disadvantaged people. The text must also enter into force on February 1, 2023.