On April 15, 2019, Jean-Marc Roffat watched, flabbergasted, the images of the Notre-Dame fire. Perhaps by professional reflex, the director of To give a hand, a Lyon-based humanitarian association that supports the poorest, wanted to draw hope from this disaster. He took to dreaming that the homeless could participate in the reconstruction of the cathedral. Training, a key job… With, in the end, a shared pride.
And then, last fall, the workshop St. George stained glass window, in Saint-Genis-les-Ollières (Rhône), was chosen by the State to restore two of the fifteen lots of stained-glass windows in Notre-Dame. “It’s a workshop passed down from master to apprentice since 1852”, explains Jean Mône, its director since 2011. the gap. We therefore set up this reintegration project, to allow a homeless person to learn the trade of stained glass and to be hired afterwards. »
Two homeless people selected for a single spot
If any homeless person can apply, by contacting Jean-Marc Roffat on 06.11.19.07.22, two volunteers already stand out for their motivation: Jean-Michel and Ismaël, who stand humbly in the workshop, admiring the craftsmen at work. “I have known them for a long time, they are courageous people, who have known all the galleys, all the difficulties”, specifies the director of Donner la main.
In February 2021, Ishmael lived in a tent, Place des Cordeliers. “Jean-Marc came to help me out,” he says. “Then he made me meet Mr. Mône to give me this opportunity. I hope to finally bounce back, thanks to this magnificent profession. And in a family business, not industrial, where we are welded as we were in construction sites, that’s what I missed the most. »
Jean-Michel adds: “With Ismaël, we have known each other for 20 years, we have worked on projects together. I am a carpenter, I worked in PVC, aluminum, in glass for Saint-Gobain… And what I like is to always learn something. Stained glass is meticulous, and I like it! »
Jean Mône will have to choose before the start of training, at the end of August, the one who seems to him the most promising. The job of stained glass artist is very difficult: “you have to be constant, agile, and have what is called the intelligence of the hand”, he warns. “A CAP takes two years; becoming a good glassmaker takes five years. But we opted for a very demanding six-month training course. We want to lay down solid fundamentals so that they can continue afterwards, without us. »
It remains to find the financing of the training. Jean-Marc Roffat therefore launched an online kitty to raise 10,000 euros. “We are also going to solicit the elected representatives of the sector, and look for a host family in the west of Lyon,” he adds, because “the candidate must be cut off from the world of the street, near the workshop to avoid fatigue. Creating a family cocoon will contribute to its success”. The two directors declared it in turn in front of Jean-Michel and Ismaël: “Their success will be ours! »