Article source: "Emmaüs Campüs, la boutique solidaire soutient les étudiants touchés par la précarité", Emmanuèle Bailly, Franceinfo (France 3), 17/03/2022
Emmaüs Campüs is located in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, near the Grands Moulins campus of the Université de Paris. Covering an area of 130 square metres, the charity shop sells cut-price second-hand goods, such as clothing and accessories, crockery, household linen and books.
Until 26 March, they are offering a 50% discount on their entire stock to support students facing financial hardship. Project manager Julie Rabier says, “Our shop is not only for students, but we want to reduce the financial insecurity of students, which has been increasing during the health crisis.”
Tailored to Students Affected by the Cost of Living Crisis
This student area of Paris contains not only a high concentration of student housing and universities, but also several organisations that provide assistance to young people. Two food aid organisations for students in vulnerable situations can be found in the same street: Linkee organises food distributions twice a week and AGORAé is a nonprofit grocery.
Since 2020, the health crisis has increased the problems faced by people with the most financial difficulties, including students. Today, a fifth of French students are living below the poverty line.
In 2021, the FAGE student union published a survey containing some alarming figures: since the beginning of the health crisis, 72% of 18-25 year olds in France had endured financial hardship and 20% of 18-24 year olds had relied on food aid.
Helping People Enter the Workplace
Rabier adds, “Beyond helping students, the primary purpose of the shop is to enable more people facing employment difficulties to enter the workplace and take part in collection, sorting and retail.”
More than 700kg of items are collected each week from individual donors’ homes or donation boxes. They are then sorted, reconditioned or cleaned up and sold at low prices by 15 employees, all of whom are homeless or in long-term unemployment. These people, who have experienced financial difficulties and social exclusion, are given individual support to bring some stability to their living situations and to prepare for what will come next in their careers.
Translated by Maëlle Fontaine and Justine Drancourt.
Editing by Sam Trainor.