Emergency accommodation, a priority of the local housing program of the community of communes of the Hérault Valley

Élus, associations et organismes rassemblés sur la question de l’hébergement d’urgence – Nathalie Pioch

The third local housing program 2025/2031 of the community of communes of the Vallée de l'Hérault is currently being developed. A meeting of partners on emergency accommodation was held on Tuesday.

The local housing programme (PLH) is a strategic document that includes the entire local housing policy: public and private housing, management of the existing stock and construction programme. To develop this new version, a participatory approach was implemented with residents or those who wish to settle in the area, through an online questionnaire. But the consultation was also carried out with the 28 municipalities of the CCVH, which carry some of the tools, the institutional partners, the social landlords and housing professionals.

Among the avenues identified, the axis “Meeting the needs of the most vulnerable via the promotion of supportive and inclusive social housing” was at the center of Tuesday's meeting.

Having housing for shelters

The issue of emergency accommodation for a vulnerable population, particularly victims of domestic violence, is a sensitive subject. “This is the hardest point to deal with” admits the mayor of Montarnaud, Jean-Pierre Pugens, community councilor delegated to housing policy. “We would like to have immediate availability, for emergency shelter, the time to get a person out of a dangerous situation and find a lasting solution. But that means leaving housing vacant“, he continues.

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The interest would be to have five or six housing units spread out in different places, in order to distance the victim from their attacker. The problem becomes more complicated when there are children: “We have to think about their schooling or places in daycare if they are still small. We must take the situation as a whole, otherwise by moving one problem, we risk creating another“.

A partnership with associations

This work must be done in partnership with organizations and associations that support women or families affected by this violence. Elsa Thibaut explains the missions of the Integrated Reception and Orientation Service of Hérault (SIAO 34), which are to establish an inventory of the Pays cœur d’Hérault, ensure social monitoring and define accommodation protocols.

The “sliding lease” is one of the proposed systems. The Trait d’Union (ATU) association takes out a lease in its name, and after a verified and validated application, sublets to a person or family. After a one-year support period, the person becomes a tenant by right. “This allows us to avoid repeating breakups and changes. For example, when a divorce is pronounced, stability is assured“, explains Sandie Mayoussier, head of land housing at the CCVH.

Two rolling leases were thus able to be made permanent. And if for the dedicated teams, “it's a success”, the difficulty is finding new housing, and especially owners who agree to enter this system.

The question of emergency accommodation therefore remains a priority, reaffirms Jean-Pierre Pugens: “that's why we are developing our third PLH. The political will exists!”

Increase the number of places

Among the objectives of the workshop: “Experiment with new solutions urgently, especially for women victims of violence” there is a need to agree on priority targets, identify the available housing stock, and study the methods of effective implementation with the support of the municipalities. Currently, there are 43 places in the territory, or 1.9 per 1,000 adults (20 to 60 years old), while the national average is 3 per 1,000. To reach this average, a total of 68 places would be needed, or between 20 and 25 additional housing units.

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