The former La Part des colibris grocery store was transformed into an anthill this week. The volunteers are busy, pushing the furniture to have enough space for the inauguration of the premises (1) while Chloé Debris, recently employed by Nos Couleurs 40, completes a fresco on the wall which retraces LGBT history in France since the Second World War.
Here, no president, but a lot of commitment. It takes enough to lead, after more than twenty years of struggle, to the opening of a place in Bayonne (and even a peña during the holidays), another in Pau and a new one in Mont-de-Marsan.
“We started in the Landes in 2020, we had a lot of requests from the south of the Landes. We met once a month at Renoir, in Mont-de-Marsan, and the branch was created like that, little by little,” recount Bernard Gachen and Philippe Lacoste. Over time, they had 115 members, and four years later, there are Nos Couleurs 40 within its walls.
It will be open every Wednesday and Friday afternoon, from 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (2), and the association's monthly meeting will be held there on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 6:30 p.m. Chloé Debris will provide these services, to welcome people who wish to do so, whether they are wondering about their sexuality, have questions about health or prevention, or simply want to be informed.
Basically, the wooden shelves have been transformed into a real library, with mangas, comics, novels, so many ways to address questions that some people would not dare to address.
A safe place
“We don't want to have a closed place, it's an open place,” advocates Bernard Gachen, for whom everyone is welcome. “It’s a “safe” place,” he continues, that is to say a safe place, without judgment, where you can find support, be listened to and guided. The people concerned are welcomed, but also their families. “Sometimes parents worry and see their child dropping out of school,” continues Philippe Lacoste.
If the members of the association are proud of the opening of this premises, it does not crystallize all their actions. Nos Couleurs 40 intervenes in schools for prevention purposes. “We are talking about all forms of discrimination,” explains Bernard Gachen, coordinator of the association. These interventions also take place in the health sector, such as during an awareness campaign recently organized with staff from the Jean-Sarrailh clinic in Aire-sur-l'Adour. “We were asked about the issue of transidentity. Some teenagers they received wondered about their gender,” continues Bernard Gachen.
Shelter
Recently, the association has set up a shelter system for adults who could find themselves on the street. “It’s a device that comes from experience. We had the case of a young man who had been hit by his father and there was no evacuation solution. The question also arises during domestic violence within LGBT couples,” explains Bernard Gachen. Exceptional situations, but which must be able to respond when they arise. “We can't do anything,” continues Philippe Lacoste. The system provides for reception for a maximum of fifteen days, with a volunteer whose accommodation is adapted to the situation.
“We open knowing that we will have to fight”
Awareness, prevention, support, defense of rights are the mantras of the association. “For us, it is a human question, but we are making it a political question. It is always a debate present in the elections, and when we hear what is happening in Russia, in the United States, in Italy regarding the rights of LGBT + people, questions arise. We remain vigilant,” continues Bernard Gachen. He knows well that nothing is ever won, and watches with a worried eye for future financing, particularly in view of the government's budget vote: “We open knowing that we will have to fight.”
Telephone hotline
Martine Houssay is the lady on the line, the one who takes the time to listen, discuss and provide guidance. She is available on 07 85 30 64 15, Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. “This makes it possible to set appointments, or respond to requests for information,” she explains.
(1) Friday November 22 at 5 p.m., at 3 rue du Maréchal-Bosquet.
(2) Office hours are also provided in Saint-Vincent-de-Tyrosse on the first Wednesday of each month from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the CCAS and on the third Wednesday of each month in Labrit, at the former Café du center, 3 to 5 p.m.
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