By getting closer to the homeless, the ABEJ-Lille offers warm, friendly centres where people can sit down in total safety and spend five minutes catching their breath, having a cup of coffee, chatting or simply keeping themselves to themselves…
Day centres
Everyone is free to use these centres according to his or her own needs: catering to people's needs is also about allowing people to talk to a member of staff whenever they like, at their own pace.
The day centres work hard first of all to be friendly, to work patiently and delicately to restore the social bond, and this means handling the specific problems faced by the homeless: for one person it may be about having a wash, finding something to eat or somewhere to stay for the night, for another it may be about having somewhere to receive post, find information or make a telephone call… In order to cater to people's needs as respectfully as possible, there are two centres open in the centre of Lille: the Point de Repère for young homeless people and the Abej Solidarités for those aged over 25. Each of the two centres can offer social, medical and administrative support to anyone who asks for it.
Accommodation
At night the Abej also has a centre providing accommodation with no time limit for people living on the streets. This living space has a long-term working relationship with the Abej Solidarités and the Point de Repère and offers accommodation in individual rooms, thus allowing residents real freedom to come and go as they please. The accommodation offers hotel-based services, events (discussion groups, cultural outings, sports and leisure activities) and the team provides each of the people housed here with support based upon a personalised integration plan. There is just one rule for everyone: respect for other people.
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