Problem addressed

The issue of poor housing is one of the major challenges our society has long faced. Today, particularly as a result of the financial and migration crises, it has become an even more pressing issue: between 2001 and 2012, the number of homeless people rose by 50 per cent, reaching 141,500 people without a fixed abode in the latter year (Infographie Les personnes à la rue, Fondation pour le Logement des Défavorisés, September 2017). Despite a strong commitment from the voluntary sector to the issue of housing support, not all needs can be met and many approaches still need to be developed.

Innovative solution

In 2006, when they founded the association Toit à Moi in Nantes, Denis Castin and Gwenaël Morvan were determined to transform the small, informal donations that people make on a daily basis into a collective, regular and impactful sponsorship scheme. Their calculation was simple: it would take fewer than 100 people donating an average of €20 a month to finance a flat within five years. They therefore launched a campaign to recruit sponsors, volunteers and patrons, which culminated in 2008 in the securing of a loan and the purchase of their first flat.

The Toi à Moi model is truly built on a principle of cooperation and complementarity between various forms of giving: regular donors help to repay the loans taken out to purchase the flats; volunteers regularly devote their time to activities organised jointly with those who have been rehoused; and corporate sponsors fund the organisation’s fixed costs and staff salaries, contribute their expertise or open up their networks to facilitate the beneficiaries’ return to work.

What sets Toi à Moi’s work apart is that it combines rehousing with a highly effective programme of psychosocial support for beneficiaries, as the loss of a home is, first and foremost, a major driver of social exclusion. The association therefore offers very close support to individuals, helping them on a day-to-day basis as they rebuild their lives until they are able to leave the scheme and move into standard accommodation.
Three types of support are therefore provided: a professional support worker assists beneficiaries in developing and implementing their strategy for re-entry into the labour market; volunteers help rebuild social ties by sharing daily, cultural or leisure activities with those receiving support; and specialist organisations (training centres, psychologists, social workers, doctors) make their expertise available.
The association’s work aims to achieve the genuine integration of individuals into society, both economically and on a human level.

Key results and benefits

Since 2016, the organisation in Nantes has settled into a comfortable rhythm, with a dedicated community of volunteers and staff working to bring this community of stakeholders to life.

Today, the association owns 18 apartments, which have enabled it to rehouse more than 50 people over the past 10 years.

Potential for mainstreaming

Mainstreaming has been launched with a view to extending this model to other regions: three branches were set up in Angers, Toulouse and La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (Île-de-France).