Utopia 56 - The charity for the needy

Yann Mazi, co-founded Utopia 56 on November 13, 2015 to help exiled people forced to live in improvised camps in northern France. Always present within Utopia 56, he is currently a volunteer general delegate. In 2015, several people from Brittany, shocked by the consequences of the crisis of the reception of exiled people in Europe, decided to go to Calais with their families.

Together, they started by taking care of the garbage in the camps where more than 10,000 people were living at the time, and then created Utopia 56, mobilizing citizens from all over France to come and help the exiled people at the French-British border. The charity has since grown to include 9 regional offices and 5 shelters for unaccompanied minors.

Key figures :

• More than 30,000 beneficiaires
• More than 3,000 volunteers
• 356 unaccompanied minors accommodated during their resettlement in 2021
• More than 2,800 outreach activities in 2021
• 3,500 people accommodated for at least one night

‍

Their main mission - to help exiled people

The values that the charity advocates are listening and respecting the stories and life projects of each person to help, in order to offer them support and follow-up in line with their experiences and projects. All this in addition to mutual aid and solidarity towards exiled and isolated people.

The main mission of the charity is to help exiled people and any person in distress. Utopia 56 Tours works for an unconditional, dignified and supportive welcome, for the respect and recognition of the rights of exiled people, and so that there are no more people forced to survive in the streets in France.

Here are the various activities of the charity :

• Day and night patrols to inform the homeless about their rights, direct them to appropriate institutional or associative structures and provide them with emergency material and food aid.
• Solidarity shelter : On the long term for unaccompanied minors, in the process of having their minority recognized, within their network of solidarity hosts or in their 5 shelters.
• Emergency accommodation for single women, couples and families, thanks to their network of citizen hosts and parishes.
• Accompaniment : social, medical, administrative and legal.
• Advocacy : against the invisibilization of homeless people and for the respect of their rights.

In Tours, unaccompanied minors who wish to appeal to the juvenile court judge to have their minority recognized find themselves in situations where they have no access to accommodation, let alone financial resources, which is why the teams at Utopia 56 Tours offer them accommodation during the procedure, while accompanying them in their daily lives, taking into account legal, administrative, medical, schooling, etc. The association has also opened an alternative school so that young people can continue to study while waiting for an assignment from the national education system. In addition, Utopia 56 Tours organizes cultural and sports activities for all its young people.

What if "Retreeb x Utopia 56" was the next project, 100% financed by Retreeb thanks to you ?

This project aims to support the young people of Utopia 56 Tours, so that they have access to mobility. This access is essential to them in their daily life. This is where Retreeb comes in by financing the annual subscription of 10 young people hosted and/or accompanied by the Utopia 56 Tours office. Thanks to this funding, these minors will be able to pick up their daily meal, go to their appointments, activities and simply go to school.

A word from Retreeb about this project

Access to transportation can greatly improve the lives of homeless youth by making it easier for them to go to school and increase their chances of success. In addition, this access will help them in their appeals to seek food baskets, which will improve their overall health. By supporting this project, we can make a significant difference in the lives of these young people and help create a more equitable and inclusive society.

Want to know more about Utopia 56 ?

• Contact
• Website
• Follow their latest news