A small space that looks like a student dormitory, nestled between offices and meeting rooms, just a few steps from the famous Avenue Champs-Élysées in Paris. Tame, who was sleeping on the street just a few months ago, now spends his nights here.
In the evenings, the young Ethiopian now has a roof over his head: that of the headquarters of the Fondation de France, a network of philanthropic associations. On the second floor, in an otherwise unused room of around fifteen square meters, the staff has provided him with a single bed and a desk where he can work on his French lessons.
“I was scared the first night, but now I’m happy to be here,” smiles the young man, who has political refugee status, shyly.
Like Tame, 260 people suffering from poor housing conditions have found temporary accommodation for two years thanks to the Bureaux du Cœur association, founded in 2021.
Across France, more than a hundred companies make one of their spaces available to them, usually a meeting room.
After working hours they can sleep there, shower and why not prepare food there?
“When I mentioned this idea to my colleagues, it was immediately a big yes,” says Anna Jardin-Lévêque, president of Handicall, a call center that employs people with disabilities.
She has been participating in the Bureaus du Cœur system since July. Two young people were placed one after the other in one of their offices in Étampes, in the Paris region.
The first stayed there for five months while he completed vocational training. After he found a job, he left his folding bed in the boardroom and moved into a youth workers' home.
Maximum six months
In fact, all accommodated people must be included in the job and housing search. This is an essential requirement of the association, which also limits the maximum duration of admission to six months.
In order to reassure the companies, the participants must not suffer from addiction or psychiatric disorders. You also do not have the right to invite people into the premises provided to you.
“In 90% of cases it goes well,” assures Juliette Baud, Parisian volunteer at Bureaux du Cœur. “The biggest concern for companies is knowing what to do if there is a problem. It’s rare, but it’s happened before and we just cut off the greeting.”
Anna Jardin-Lévêque agrees: “Someone in need will not shoot themselves in the foot by not respecting the premises.”
Of the 20 people currently housed in Paris, three are women, explains Juliette Baud: “They are certainly a minority because in this age group they often have dependent children,” which is why they are not eligible for this particular reception.
Although most of the participating companies are SMEs, they are not all part of the social and solidarity economy like Handicall: “For example, we recently signed a contract with a large agri-food group,” testifies the volunteer.
The conditions for admission to a host company are quite simple: they have a room where a sofa bed can be placed, a toilet next door and a room with a refrigerator and microwave.
We also have to convince the insurers, because the usual contract does not provide for greetings outside of working hours. “When I called, he thought the project was great and I got an agreement within twelve hours,” laughs Anna Jardin-Lévêque.
Everyone recognizes that this system is not a panacea for homelessness. But “the offices of the heart can be part of the equipment that allows us to go a little further,” hopes Thierry Ployart, responsible for the working environment at the Fondation de France.