ALPA

Based in the south of France, in the town of Aix-en-Provence, subprefecture in the department Bouches du Rhône. Aix is a town of 143.097 inhabitants, making it the 23rd most populated in France. It’s located in the same urban area as Marseille with its 1.607.292 inhabitants, making it the 3rd biggest urban area of the country. (source: INSEE-2018). The cultural heritage of Aix is significant; a thermal town since antiquity and home to many other cultural sights (architecture, lyrical art festival, the Grande Théâtre de Provence, etc), it’s a very important tourist hotspot. This makes it a place with ample opportunities to develop many different cultural and artistic projects. It’s important to know that Aix en Provence is the sister town of places such as Ashkelon, Baalbeck, Carthage, Granada, Kumamoto, Pécs, Perugia, Tübingen. ALPA(Association Logement du Pays d’Aix-Housing Association of Aix) is an association that engages in works of social nature and solidarity and acts for the right to housing ever since its creation in 1989. ALPA accompanies individuals or families in difficulty. For over 30 years, ALPA has been a non-profit organisation that aims in sustainable housing for everyone, prolonging and completing public programs. The association continues to be mobilised and active to promote integration through housing, notably by social accompaniment, which is at the heart of its actions. ALPA engages in, according to conditions set by law the 2nd of June 1990, “accompanying and helping any individual or family suffering particular difficulties, especially due to the unsuitability of resources or their conditions of existence”. However, their savoir-faire applies more precisely in certain situations: -Individuals in a precarious situation, housed in bad situations (unsanitary space, unfit living conditions, etc) or hosted individuals receiving common law financial aid. -Individuals on the verge of securing housing or who have secured independent housing, but have never had this experience or are still very fragile in certain financial and social integration aspects. -Already housed individuals who’ve suffered great difficulties at a certain point and/or a social separation or a separation of family Especially regarding their living conditions: supporting individuals in their search for housing, helping in accessing housing, fighting against eviction, counseling in case of legal dispute between the tenant and the landlord, or in case of indecency and unsanitary living conditions. In addition, ALPA manages 2 guest houses that welcome approximately 50 residents: - The family guest house “Les Pléiades” is ideally situated peripherally of Aix and close to many different shops, a nursery and elementary school as well as a middle school, all accessible on foot in a distance of a few minutes. There are also bus stops close to the guest house which allow the residents to take advantage of public transport and reach the town centre within a few minutes. - A second family guest house, “Soleil” is in the heart of the old town of Aix. These two guest houses account for approximately forty housing spaces. Most of the residents have a very chaotic road ahead of them in terms of accessing housing. For some of them, that means coming from a temporary or emergency housing centre, while for others it means having gone through the punishing experience of living in the street. The residents take time to re-construct themselves, and to make a personal project that allows their access to a conventional housing situation. For them, it’s a step which allows them access to someone to a listening ear, a welcome and accompaniment. ALPA’s specialisation, along with its constant interaction with the different actors of housing and solidarity, offers the association a privileged position in regards to observing, analysing and responding to the social needs of the public.