"
We can't get used to that
": more than 1,600 minors are homeless in France on the eve of the start of the school year, denounced on Tuesday an associative collective which calls on parents of students and teachers to mobilize when a child and his family sleep rough.
On a case-by-case basis, "
we hope that parents and teachers will take over these situations because they are revolted by the situation of their students or their classmates
", explained Manuel Domergue during a press conference. , from the Abbé-Pierre Foundation.
A “help network” created
As of August 22, 3,133 families, including 1,658 children, have not managed to obtain emergency accommodation from 115, an increase of 86% compared to the figures for January 31, according to data collected by the representatives of a collective of solidarity associations and by the federation of parents of FCPE pupils.
However, "
children who sleep in a car or on the street cannot learn in good conditions
", underlined Anne-Sophie Huchard, a teacher member of the collective "
Never without a roof
".
Since 2014, this Lyon collective has mobilized a hundred times in favor of families whose school children were homeless.
It is precisely this type of mobilization which the associations want to encourage the generalization of, via a
newly created “
network of help for homeless students ”.
It is a question of “
spreading militant practices
” and a “
framework
” of action: the objective is that “
people come out of passivity and fatalism
”, explained Manuel Domergue.
"Collective Vigilance"
"
Solidarity snacks
", support concerts, appeal to local elected officials... as a last resort, mobilization can even go through a temporary occupation of the school, they explained: homeless families are invited to come and sleep in school premises with their children, in the company of activists who are members of their support committee.
“
In general, after a few days or a few weeks, it works: the families concerned end up obtaining housing
,” testified Sophie Huchard.
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Beyond the call for "
collective vigilance
", the group calls on the public authorities to "
that no child be forced to spend the night outside
".
However, the number of emergency accommodation places must soon be reduced from around 200,000 to 190,000, underlined Manuel Domergue: "
to believe that for the government, as long as society does not mobilize, there is a level of acceptable homelessness
,” he lamented.
