” How much do I owe you ? » Marc Foucan, manager of the Gerland solidarity laundromat, in the 7th arrondissement of Lyon, has continued to hear this question several times a day since the premises opened. “Nothing, absolutely nothing,” he systematically replies, offering a hot drink. “Everything is free,” he insists. Even if they find it hard to believe it, all the people who want it [aucun justificatif de situation n’est demandé] can make an appointment, come wash their clothes, dry them and enjoy some quiet time in a clean, dry place. »
“I didn’t expect to discover a place like this,” exclaims Emilie, who comes for the first time that morning. “It’s very neat and modern. We are warm and it smells good, she explains. And then, we are very well received. » She “greatly” appreciates the “discretion” of the teams to whom she is not obliged to “show all [sa] life “. To have an appointment, all you need is a first and last name. “I usually use laundromats,” she confides. But there, I found myself on the street, without the possibility of withdrawing money from my account. If it wasn’t for the laundromat, I would have had to wait until next month to wash my things. »
She adds: “We don’t think about it until it affects us, but for a person who has to show up for work, it matters,” she says. If we have dirty clothes, it inevitably has an influence on the way we are seen. »
“Here, we recharge the batteries in every sense of the word”
For Amadou, too, “it’s very important to have an accessible place to do your laundry.” “It changes a lot for my hygiene,” explains this young person who has been coming regularly for two months. His friend Alhassane, 25, agrees and adds: “I used to go to the river to clean my clothes by hand. So you can imagine the changes in my life. » According to Marc Foucan, many beneficiaries are also users of the shower baths, just above the premises. “Before opening, they left clean but with dirty things, sometimes wet, that didn’t make sense,” points out the local manager.
In addition to clean clothes, the solidarity laundry also allows you to create “social bonds”, in Sarah’s words. This mother, who is coming for the fourth time, explains: “We get to know each other a little bit. We take advantage of the length of the programs, between eighteen and forty minutes, to chat with each other. » Once her clothes are in the machine, she sits at a table and plugs in her phone. “Coming here, we recharge our batteries, in every sense of the word,” she says, smiling. And we always leave happy. Already, because we have clean and dry clothes. But also because through this place, we are given a little dignity. It’s important for us, especially in the situations we go through. »
1,300 meetings in six months
Since the inauguration in April, 1,300 appointments have been made. “We are always full,” explains Marc Foucan. This proves that there was a real need. » In addition to the three washing machines and three dryers, the relaxation area and the hair salon area, writing workshops and administrative support will be offered at the solidarity laundromat.
“The next step would be to develop this concept elsewhere,” says Sandrine Runel, deputy mayor responsible for Solidarity and social inclusion. According to its information, the city of Lyon would be a pioneer in the “direct management” initiative, with existing projects being managed by associations. “The right to hygiene and other measures are part of the lessons learned from the night of solidarity. For all these requests that have been made, we try to find quick and concrete answers,” she says.
For the local manager, the priority must be that of a luggage storage system. “This is one of the most recurring and urgent requests from people in precarious situations,” he says. They don’t sleep at night, for fear that their belongings will be stolen. They also cannot show up for a job interview with everything on their backs. » Sandrine Runel slips that “self-service and secure solidarity lockers” are in the pipeline and could see the light of day by the end of the year.