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In France, offices are only occupied around 30% of the time: in the evening, overnight and at weekends, they sit empty. Meanwhile, more than 330,000 homeless people are sleeping on the streets.
This observation led to the creation of Les Bureaux du Cœur, an association that invites companies to turn their unused premises into individual emergency accommodation. Working with a network of partner associations, Les Bureaux du Cœur refers people in precarious situations and connects them with companies.
Since mid-June, through a partnership signed with the association, we have been opening our offices to a person experiencing homelessness, in the evenings and at weekends, with dedicated facilities. Farid is our first guest. It is still too early to take stock, but not too early to tell how it all began.
A desire to go further
The project grew out of our overall CSR approach. For several years, Work With Island has been supporting non-profit organisations by offering them preferential terms. “We were already committed, but we wanted to go a bit further, and not just on the question of recycled pods,” explains Vanessa Roy, Work With Island’s outsourced CSR Director.
Our mission, bringing serenity to the workplace, echoes that of Les Bureaux du Cœur, which brings serenity to those who need it most. “It was something very concrete to put in place, with a real human side: helping a person in a precarious situation and giving our employees a way to get directly involved in the company’s day-to-day life,” adds Vanessa.
A deliberate choice from the start: involve the teams in a shared effort, not one driven by HR alone.
For Yohann and Robin, Work With Island’s co-founders, taking part was a no-brainer. “I remember the meeting where Vanessa told us about it. She finished her sentence, and Robin and I looked at each other and thought: of course, why didn’t we think of this before?” says Yohann.
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Setting a framework
Before welcoming anyone, a clear framework had to be in place. Les Bureaux du Cœur defines it precisely. A renewable three-month tripartite agreement is signed, which commits the host company to asking nothing in return from the guest, whether services or availability, and sets out the terms of the stay.
“We set precise conditions because that’s what protects everyone, both the person being hosted and the company opening its doors,” explains a representative of Les Bureaux du Cœur. The rules are clear and practical: the guest has access to the offices from 6.30 pm to 9 am on weekdays, and all day at weekends. The association supports the set-up with training resources and regular follow-up.
Alongside the stay, Les Bureaux du Cœur helps the guest in their search for housing.
Teams on board
With the framework in place, the next step was to get the teams involved. When Vanessa presented the initiative, the response was immediate: two pairs of volunteers stepped forward at the very first meeting. Among them, Adélaïde, Tou-Zeu, Laure and Fleur didn’t hesitate to put themselves forward.
For Laure, the mission made sense from the start: “We often hear about homelessness without knowing how to take concrete action at our own level. Here, there was something concrete to do: welcome Farid, make sure he feels comfortable, and be there if he needs anything.”
Fleur already had a foot in volunteering: “I’d already volunteered, at Les Restos du Cœur and on street outreach rounds. For me, it was the logical next step. It happened quite naturally.”
Being a Les Bureaux du Cœur referent is a hands-on, everyday role, a bridge between employees and the guest: making sure everything runs smoothly, organising the welcome, sharing good practice internally, and being available to answer the guest’s questions.
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A first meeting
All that remained was to get to know the person who would soon be sharing the space. In early June, we organised a first meeting with Farid, who had been homeless for a few months and was receiving support from the City of Paris. The aim: to start a conversation, show him our offices and make sure the arrangement worked for both sides.
In the days that followed, our volunteers prepared for his arrival. Among other things, they turned a room into a bedroom with a sofa bed, an extra wardrobe, bed linen and pillows. A few days later, Farid moved in. In addition to his room, he has his own space in the fridge, as well as access to a shower and toilets.
What’s next
Since his arrival, things have gradually settled into place and Farid has found his feet. This adventure is only just beginning, and what we’ve learned so far comes down to one simple idea: an office can have two uses, two purposes, two rhythms. By day, people work there. By night, someone without a home can find a roof over their head.
In France, 350 companies in more than 30 cities are already hosts, and more than 900 people have been supported since the association was founded. It’s a simple approach, open to any company with offices that sit empty at night.
So if you’d also like to help someone living on the street, Les Bureaux du Cœur can put you in touch with a guest in need.
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