At the beginning of 2023, a total of nearly 71,500 accommodation places, of all different types, were counted in the Grand Paris Metropolis. This compares with approximately 57,300 places at the beginning of 2020. While the study reveals a significant increase, the needs still remain enormous as proved by the great number of people without shelter met during the counting operations.
The overall offer of accommodation has risen greatly in recent years, particularly since the 2020 health crisis.
This study, is complementary to the analytical work on the results of the Night of Solidarity, and documents the diversity of the accommodation provision and the responses to the basic needs of homeless people in Grand Paris Metropolis, via maps on different scales and an analysis of trends.
The supply of assisted accommodation in Grand Paris includes places in social housing residences, hostels for young and/or immigrant workers, family boarding houses and intermediary rentals. As the primary solution promoted by “Logement d’Abord”, the number of family lodgings has increased in recent years but remains limited with 2,800 units available at the beginning of 2023 in the entire metropolis. Rentable intermediary accommodation in the private sector has also expanded with 18,000 places available at the beginning of 2023. Access to social housing remains very limited throughout the territory.
The results of the different Nights of Solidarity, as well as the interviews carried out in the course of the study bring to light other important needs for the day to day life of homeless people and the procedure of finding accommodation. Among the most pressing subjects that emerged are the social accompaniment and access to one’s rights and to accommodation, access to storage space for belongings (enabling free movement during the daytime and safety at night), help to find food (under the pressure of inflation and the renewal of public beneficiaries), access to hygiene (showers, toilets etc.) and available health care.
The second part of the study focuses on the day to day services available for homeless people. The maps, which use information gathered by the association Soliguide, make it possible to locate existing services and give information about their accessibility. They show the geographical inequality of availability with a much greater concentration within Paris, as well as the areas that are lacking in services, particularly in the north-east and south of the metropolis. The inserts made are drawn from interviews and present a selection of projects which illustrate the commitment and types of action put in place by the public, associative and citizen key players in response to the needs of these sections of the population.
