Research project

THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM ACCOMMODATION FOR THE HOMELESS DURING THE TWO CONFINEMENTS. CASE STUDY BASED ON THE NANTERRE SHELTER AND ASSISTANCE CENTER FOR THE HOMELESS (CHAPSA)

“The project proposes an assessment of an unprecedented situation involving long-term accommodation for the homeless in a shelter where the usual reception is by the night. It is important to analyze this situation because it calls into question the professional practices of shelters.”

Care for the homeless disrupted by confinements

The Centre d’Hébergement et d’Assistance aux Personnes Sans-Abris (CHAPSA) in Nanterre housed homeless people during the two confinements (from March 17 to May 10, and from October 30 to December 15, 2020). Long-term care, constrained by strict confinement measures in 2020, produced unexpected results. Chronic illnesses have been stabilized, and some residents have even left the facility. The aim of this project is to carry out an analysis of long-term accommodation at the CHAPSA center, with a view to proposing this new system to other centers.

Secondary objectives are to :

  1. Document the various measures and actions taken by CHAPSA professionals during the two lockdowns.
  2. Understand how the homeless felt about the changes in CHAPSA’s operations during the confinements.
  3. Suggest ways of improving care for the homeless, by listening to users’ needs and adapting care at CHAPSA and other centers.
The CHAPSA in Nanterre during confinement

In 2020 and 2021, three confinements took place in France. In this period of uncertainty and daily adaptations (Damon, 2021), Nanterre’s Centre d’hébergement et d’assistance aux personnes sans-abris (CHAPSA) housed homeless people during both confinements. It provided long-term care with the sole aim of meeting an urgent need.

During the confinements, the CHAPSA provided full and continuous care for the homeless. This had not previously been possible due to the overnight accommodation system.

This long-term accommodation has helped to ensure that patients receive medical follow-up, act quickly when necessary and thus successfully stabilize chronic pathologies. In addition, other people were able to leave the system.

In order to carry out this study, 20 people will be interviewed. These people are either CHAPSA professionals, or are or have been CHAPSA users.

Three stages will be implemented: (1) bibliographical research on the study subject (care during confinements); (2) organization and analysis of part of the quantitative framing data and the history of the lodgers; (3) semi-structured interviews with CHAPSA professionals (10 interviews) and lodgers (10 interviews) on their experience during the three confinements.

The study revealed 3 main findings
  1. CHAPSA professionals’ attentiveness to residents’ needs improves mutual relations.
  2. Improved responsiveness to residents’ needs has accelerated the time taken by some residents to leave the system.
  3. The change in the way CHAPSA operates, during confinements, could lead to improved care for the homeless in CHAPSA and other centers.

Biography

Stéphanie Espejo Zeballos defended a thesis entitled “Habiter les interstices urbains. Une analyse des formes d’appropriation, d’adaptation et d’innovation de populations en grande précarité à Lille (France) et Medellín (Colombia)” at the TVES laboratory at the University of Lille in 2022. Her research focuses on urban wastelands.