A key to an apartment and to social integration

In the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, a total of 200 social housing units are made available annually for a need estimated at more than 1,600! To try to fill in this enormous gap, the Habitat Pact company, an integration housing contracting structure created in 1996 by the Pact association network, is committed to constructing social housing accessible to the most disadvantaged families. Assisted by various associations and local authorities, this cooperative structure takes charge of contracting the operations dealing with acquisition, refurbishing and construction of suitable housing.

From housing to social integration

But that's not all: the originality of this plan is that each housing access project is followed up by the social integration of the families concerned. For example, a future tenant may be directly involved in the construction of his or her housing unit by working for the integration company in charge of the work or by participating in the finishing touches or interior decoration. This social support continues even after the tenant moves in.
To meet the needs of the region's least fortunate families, Habitat Pact set the goal of producing 130 social housing units per year, which it will achieve thanks to grants from the State and from local authorities and associations, as well as through loans. The Veolia foundation will help top off this financing through a 100,000 euro grant spread out over two years, which will go towards thirty integration plans.