In the center of the Water Point, Cyril Bazalgette, director of the OGFA, and his teams distribute coffee, tea and meals: “Here people can come during the day to rest, drink and chat”, but also to socialize and shower. “It’s a place where I can take care of myself. Just taking my shower gives me a boost. Cleanliness is essential,” continues Régis.
In France, around 300,000 people are said to be homeless according to the 27th report of the Abbé Pierre Foundation for 2022. A figure that has doubled since 2018. For the director of OGFA, it is clear that the homeless population has increased in recent years in Pau: “Since the Covid, we have seen more and more people outside, especially young people”.
Same observation for Jean-Marc Ponté, president of the Red Cross in Pau: “This month of August the population of people on the street has doubled. People are hungry. We have a real food problem, we will have to act”. With the summer, many associations are on vacation and there are fewer food collections.
Three evenings out of seven in summer, compared to six out of seven in winter, with four volunteers, he carries out marauding visits to people in difficulty in Pau. In winter, each evening, the association supplies around 45 people. This summer, no less than 85 people are visited: “The further we advance in the month, towards the fifteenth, the more precariousness there is”.
One and a half meals a day
Fabio, fifty years old, has always lived on the street. He has been close to the Point D’eau center for years: “I come to eat, even if it’s only a meal or a meal and a half during the day. Fortunately, there are marauders too, they save us these people”. In the courtyard of the reception center a colorful fresco reminds homeless people of words that are sometimes hard to apply.
The fresco in the courtyard of the day center, rue de Ségure in Pau.
AS. Estruch
In the street under 40 degrees
With peaks of 40 degrees in Béarn since July, the heat wave is hitting people on the street hard. The biggest problem remains the dehydration of alcoholic people: “We force them to drink if I may say so because they do not have this reflex” explains Jean-Marc Ponté who this morning again sent a message to his teams to prepare stocks of water bottle.
On the Point D’eau side, the center has adapted: “We opened two weekends during the strong heat waves thanks to the volunteers and we received a lot of people”, confides Elise Gey, educator instructor.
What are the institutions doing in all this?
On the European side things are starting to move, since on February 28 the European Union (EU) adopted an action plan. Within the framework of the French presidency of the EU, the ministers of its 27 Member States adopted, near Paris (Ile-de-France), a work plan with the very ambitious objective: to no longer have people without -shelter on their streets in 2030.
