the essential
The DAL 09 association was officially launched this Saturday in Couserans. It will intervene throughout the department to help residents who are experiencing great housing difficulties.
This Saturday in Saint-Girons, around ten people gathered in the associative café at 17 rue du Bourg for the official creation of the Ariège housing rights association (DAL09). “We had the impression that there were problems of poor housing and that it was important to unite around this issue,” explains Zoé, one of the new members of the association, who has worked several months to its creation. “In Ariège, there are a lot of people waiting for housing, particularly social housing. There are also a lot of secondary houses and empty housing. The idea is to highlight this reality and respond to the housing crisis. housing that exists in the department.”
People in difficulty with their housing will therefore be able to turn to the members of the association, supported by a legal team and lawyers based in Toulouse. “The idea is not to put oneself in a position of rescuer or assistant, nor to act in the place of people. The objective is to teach them to dispose of and defend their rights,” clarifies Paul, also member. “The DAL cannot give the key to new housing,” summarizes Zoé. “On the other hand, it can support people in the procedures to have the unsanitary condition of their housing recognized […] and in legal procedures or the implementation of concrete means of struggle. […] The idea is also to be able to realize that we are not alone in having housing problems. When you have unsanitary housing with mold, pests, rats, cockroaches, you can be ashamed to talk about it and isolate yourself.”
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“Historically, the housing struggle was fought a lot in the city”
An aid system present more generally in large cities. “It seems that this is one of the first rural DALs to be created in France. […] Historically, the housing struggle has been largely fought in the city. We think there is also an issue in the campaign. […] Here, there is a rural territorial logic which is different from that of large cities. The idea is that we are present throughout the department […] with offices in Foix and Pamiers”, says Zoé, who calls on associations or town halls to find places for occasional reception.
According to the new association, Ariège is experiencing specific problems linked to its rural nature. “It is an area where housing is often damp and it is not always easy to keep it in good condition. There is a portion of vacant housing that is not sold, not rented, and which is deteriorating. […] In Ariège, we know that there are slumlords.”
On the walls of the Saint-Girons associative café, self-managed, which will host association offices, practical sheets and some figures. “In Ariège, there are 27,400 second homes, 10,300 vacant homes and more than 2,000 people waiting for social housing,” assure the two members.
