Le Refuge (France)
Le Refuge Foundation provides housing and support to young LGBTQAI+ people aged from 14 to 25 who have been rejected by their parents and expelled from the family home because of their Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or Sex Characteristics. (SOGIESC).
Le Refuge was created in 2003 and in 2019 opened specific housing for LGBTQAI+ refugees and minors.
Le Refuge offers its beneficiaries a safe environment and the care of multi-disciplinary teams to guide them towards autonomy by helping them to rebuild their confidence and their lives.
Le Refuge also implements prevention and awareness-raising actions, particularly within schools. The objective is to change mindsets so that one day they will no longer receive calls from young people in distress.
Finally, Le Refuge's have set up a phone support line dedicated to LGBTQAI+ young people that can be reached by phone or text message. It makes it possible to establish a first contact with young LGBTQAI+ victims of family prejudice or malaise due to their SOGIESC.
In 2022/2023, the Eurofins Foundation supported Le Refuge to make their four missions more sustainable, more structured, and, moreover, safer:
- Emergency accommodation
- Day-to-day support
- National dedicated support phoneline
- Raising awareness in society
To do so, Le Refuge continued to professionalise its actions and support young people by hiring social workers (6 recruited in the first quarter of 2023) and continuing to train volunteers.
Le Refuge has also begun to increase its accommodation capacities, by seeking agreements with the public authorities: 20 new beds opened in the first quarter of 2023 and 40 additional should open in the coming weeks/months in Marseille, Grenoble, Saint-Etienne, and Lyon. To support this development, Le Refuge’s Board of Director has decided to expand the executive committee by hiring a Director of Institutional Relations, who aims to significantly increase the amount of public subsidies in the financing of its actions.
The Eurofins Foundation’s grant also played a key role in enhancing the support and assistance provided to the youth. LGBTI+ migrant youth have been able to access assistance more aligned with their needs, particularly in legal matters. By conducting training sessions in school and professional environments, Le Refuge also successfully increased awareness about LGBTI+ issues, with around 200 pupils attending the sessions in the first semester.
This project contributes to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
