Housing Minister launches 'homelessness observatory'

The Minister of Housing Olivier Klein set up a "Homelessness Observatory" on Tuesday May 16 with associations, representatives of elected officials and the State, to improve the census of homeless people in order to facilitate their care. .

It appears "necessary to improve the care of homeless people and facilitate their orientation to have precise figures which also make it possible to support the partnership work carried out by the State, communities and associations", indicates the Ministry of Housing in a release.

This observatory brings together associations such as the Abbé Pierre Foundation, the Secours Catholique or the Aurore association, associations of elected officials and representatives of State services.

The Minister of Housing, former mayor of Clichy-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), asked the observatory to "publish updated figures at regular intervals" and to prepare for winter 2023-24.

The homeless - people who live on the streets, tents, parks or woods, places of public transport, camps - number just under 5.000, according to a census carried out in 29 cities in January 2022 in the framework of the Nights of Solidarity.

In addition, 12.000 EU nationals lived in "slums" as of December 31, 2022 in metropolitan France, according to figures from the interministerial delegation for accommodation and access to housing for homeless or poorly housed people ( Dihal).

In addition, 205.000 general accommodation places (emergency accommodation, hotels, etc.) are open, for an overall cost of 6 million euros per night, according to the Ministry of Housing. And 115.000 places were open in specific centers for asylum seekers, as of December 31, 2022, according to figures from Dihal.

26.500 displaced persons from Ukraine, beneficiaries of temporary protection, occupied 8.600 housing units provided by the State, as of December 31, 2022.

The Housing First plan, launched in 2017, which makes direct access to housing a priority for the reintegration of homeless people, has enabled 440.000 homeless people to access housing between 2018 and 2022, including 105.000 in 2022, according to Dihal figures.

141.332 people who are homeless or from accommodation centers received social housing between 2017 and 2022, including 28.042 in 2022, she adds.