Fr. Grégoire SKICKI tells us of the origins of the project called the Association “Toit pour Toi” in Nice and how the project became a reality. [Editor’s note: The English translation of “Toit pour Toi” is “A roof for you” but the wordplay is lost in the translation!]
I lived for quite a while in the bush, in Cameroon. When I arrived in Nice, at first I was dazzled by the beauty of this city. But I was also very surprised. In Cameroon, a very poor country, there are no homeless. How could it be that in a city so rich and beautiful, there were so many street people?
“The beauty of a city,” said Abbé Pierre, “the beauty of a nation, is not in its gardens, its theaters, its museums, or even its cathedrals. It consists in having no slums; it consists in having no one who lives in destitution.”
With the “Toit pour toi” Association, therefore, we are working to beautify our city. We want to live something beautiful here.
This association originated in the fact that I wanted to be present to the destitute homeless. But I lived in an upscale, bourgeois neighborhood, a few dozen meters from the sea. And the Oblates’ house contained many unoccupied square meters. What could we do to be consistent with what we were? It was a simple reaction of solidarity. I was ashamed to tell my friends on the street that I lived in Rue de France!
The day care center run by Catholic Relief Services was full. They could only send the youngsters back to the street! And we lived in a largely unoccupied house. We had to do something.
So we decided, Jacques LANGLET and I, to create an association whose goal is to manage a temporary housing building. Jacques suggested that the association be called “Toit pour toi: we succeed together.” To be effective, more people were needed, competent people. Otherwise, it does more harm than good. Jacques, who works at the SAMU Social (emergency medical assistance service) handles the administrative and financial tasks.
The youth, whom we welcome for six months, must be seen by professionals: social workers, educators. It is a guarantee of success. If those whom we took in return after six months to their starting point, it would really be a failure. During these six months, something important happens in the lives of our youth. Six months should be enough for them to get moving, to stabilize their social position, find work and small but independent housing.
The Oblate community, which was scattered throughout the house, has regrouped, so as to free two floors. The first floor is common space, a place to live. This is where we meet: there is a lounge. This is where one can do laundry, cook, and eat together.
Five rooms have been set up on the second floor. Then another five on the third. Each room is painted with bright colors. It’s simple, clean, elegant. The project has been funded by the De Mazenod Foundation. We are grateful. And thanks also to the Oblate authorities of France who supported our project. (Audacieux pour l’Evangile, July 2012. See also an internet video in French: http://goo.gl/JRUzd)
