“Act so as not to suffer and think about the future”, this is the common thread of all the actions carried out by the association for Accommodation, Reception and Reintegration in Provence.
For AHARP, it all began in 1985 at the “La Sousto” home, rue Buffon in Avignon. Led by Denis Martin, the association then offers shelter to women in difficulty. Today, the 72 employees and volunteers work within three divisions which constitute the very essence of the association: a housing division, a child protection division and an accommodation division. “Aharp has always had in its DNA to serve the people most in difficulty: originally serving women, then women with children, and today women, children, men and dads as part of the family unit”, explain Rémy Bertaud, Luc Crespo and Sylvie Martin, co-presidents of the association.
They philosophically take up the words of Saint-Exupéry: “The future is never anything but the present to be put in order. It is not a question of predicting it but of making it possible.”
415 people supported in 2023
The year 2023 was full of twists and turns for the employees and members of the association. Driven by values of commitment and solidarity, AHARP organized its first conference on the theme of parenting and at the same time launched the Parenting Center. The general assembly was an opportunity to take stock of the Villa project, which is a structure designed for the emergency reception of minor children. It was opened at the end of 2022. “From an emergency that we wanted to balance, we have become, like other establishments, a place saturated with requests without the possibility of implementing the initial project”. The association therefore had no choice but to close the doors of the structure at the end of January.
She also continued to act to support and protect women victims of domestic violence by organizing a “Women Victims of Violence” convention and obtaining an increase in the number of reception places.
Like the legendary hummingbird which chooses to “do your part“, employees and volunteers of AHARP, not content with having welcomed and supported 415 people in 2023, will continue to welcome, accommodate and support families, offer suitable housing and accompany and support parental functions.
