The EU-funded 5Bridges project in Nantes, western France, is developing innovative solutions to homelessness and urban poverty which involve tackling the links between the main factors behind the problems. The project aims to break the cycle of poverty by focusing on five main areas, namely jobs, housing, health, inclusion and empowerment of beneficiaries through sustained active involvement.
- 22 November 2018
The 5Bridges project is emblematic of the initiatives that we want to promote on the territory. Located in the centre of the city, 5Bridges will offer a better welcome and new support opportunities for homeless people.
5Bridges is implemented from the ground upwards, with beneficiaries actively involved in designing the services. The centrepiece will be a building in a district of Nantes which is already home to healthcare facilities, solidarity-based businesses and private and social housing.
The building will operate as a one-stop-shop, bringing together people from different social groups, and providing job opportunities through a neighbourhood restaurant, a collective urban farm and a solidarity shop. It will also include social housing, healthcare and tailored social services available 24/7.
Job contracts and work experience
In the period prior to the building’s completion, 5Bridges is setting up small-scale urban laboratories to test and optimise the different elements of the project. These laboratories will provide beneficiaries with short-term job contracts and work experience.
Dialogue within the neighbourhood and the involvement of civil society will help to open up the project’s structures to everyone living and working in the area. It is estimated that around 2 000 homeless, badly housed and socially disconnected people in Nantes and the surrounding area will benefit each year.
Tackling homelessness and exclusion
Homelessness is one of the main challenges cities need to address in tackling poverty. Today, many people find themselves homeless or in precarious situations for longer periods of time and people suffering from social exclusion feel stigmatised.
In 2014, more than 2 300 people were homeless in Nantes, while in 2015, of the 4 322 people in the city who called the emergency services, 36 % were living on the streets. Although Nantes aims to be a liveable city for everyone and places social cohesion at the heart of its public policies, it still lacked coordinated social support services. At the same time, existing structures were not always in line with the needs of users and were often dispersed across the city rather than accessible under one roof.
5Bridges thus forms part of a strategy to provide coordinated services that meet the needs of the most at-risk groups and connect them to their neighbourhoods. Inter-institutional and inter-sectoral cooperation between professionals and the involvement of social workers, volunteers, users and the wider community will increase expertise related to support services and foster the development of more relevant tools that take account of real-life situations. This will help to break down social barriers and create a new integration dynamic based on tailored support in a communal space.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “5Bridges – Creating bridges between homeless and local communities” is EUR 22 000 000, with the EU’s European Regional Development Fund contributing EUR 4 953 297 through the “Urban Innovative Actions” Initiative for the 2014-2020 programming period.