Caracol expands its intercultural and solidarity housing solutions in the Lyon region

Looking to transform empty spaces into temporary shared housing and advance solidarity housing projects in the Lyon area? Discover the association Caracol, its first project in Lyon, and how it is supported in continuing its development in the region.

Combining access to housing, solidarity, and community: this is the successful challenge taken on by Caracol, which has offered temporary shared housing between refugees and local residents since 2018. Arriving in Lyon in spring 2021, the association inaugurated its first Lyon shared flat in October 2022. A true success for this partnership project, supported by Ronalpia and ONLYLYON Invest, and carried out with Sixième Sens Immobilier, the French state (Interministerial Delegation for the Reception and Integration of Refugees), and the City and Métropole of Lyon. Caracol now aims to secure and expand its model more broadly across Greater Lyon. With Caracol, let’s develop a network of multicultural and solidarity-based shared housing in the Lyon metropolitan area!

Caracol’s solidarity shared housing: a solution for welcoming refugees and providing access to housing in the Lyon metropolitan area

Caracol carries out temporary occupancy projects based on an intercultural cohabitation model between refugees and local residents in France. The principle is simple: convert vacant housing into comfortable, convivial, and multicultural shared flats. Approved under the Elan Law (Evolution of Housing, Planning, and Digital), the association founded in 2018 currently manages 14 shared flats, providing 130 places in France.

“It’s a real living space to recharge, work on a fresh start, share, exchange, or simply regain stability, always with the strength of the collective.”

— Simon Guibert, founder of Caracol

Beyond providing housing, Caracol’s shared flats serve as a tool for integration. Each resident is encouraged to help and share at their own pace and in line with their personal project. Caracol also provides social support to residents who have international protection. In France, 17,000 refugees leave accommodation centers each year without housing solutions once their status is granted.

The Lyon metropolitan area is the second-largest reception territory for asylum seekers in France, and most newly recognized refugees remain in the area where they have established networks. At the same time, the local rental housing market is under pressure, with rising rents creating inequalities in access. It is in this context that the Métropole of Lyon and the City of Lyon, via the CCAS (Municipal Center for Social Action), reached out to Caracol in 2021.

Hôtel Moderne: Caracol’s first shared flat in Greater Lyon

Caracol’s first project in Greater Lyon involved creating a 26-person shared flat in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon, within a former two-star hotel made available by 6e Sens Immobilier. Purchased in January 2021, Hôtel Moderne (15 rue Dubois, 69002 Lyon) is provided for 6 years by the company through its endowment fund supporting the fight against poor housing conditions.

The City and Métropole of Lyon supported this innovative and unique partnership in France.

In addition to public aid and support from 6e Sens, Caracol relied on:

• Habitat et Humanisme Rhône for social support and orientation for residents with refugee status,
• Entreprise des Possibles (Alain Mérieux) for funding communal space renovations,
• Evolem Citoyen for financing the association’s development in Greater Lyon.

Inaugurated on October 17, 2022, the Hôtel Moderne shared flat has been operational since July 2022. It currently hosts 12 refugees from six different nationalities and 14 local residents: 5 in education or training, 7 seeking employment, 12 employed, and 2 in civic service.

Ronalpia, ONLYLYON Invest, and the Métropole of Lyon support associations like Caracol in establishing themselves in the Lyon region

Caracol developed this temporary shared housing project with political and financial support from the City and Métropole of Lyon. The goal is to complement the existing temporary housing and refugee reception options in the Lyon metropolitan area.

Ronalpia and ONLYLYON Invest also supported Caracol for 9 months through their 2022 “Implantation Program.” Each year, these organizations, backed by the Métropole of Lyon, help proven social and solidarity economy enterprises establish local branches in the Lyon region to bring their solutions to local needs.

For Caracol, the program support included:

• Connecting with the local ecosystem (social and solidarity economy, local authorities, peri-urban areas, real estate…),
• Assistance in identifying new real estate opportunities,
• Individual and collective support in measuring social impact, local expansion, public relations, and personalized mentoring,
• Support in finding new funding sources and future recruitments.

Under the territorial contract for reception and integration, cosigned by the cities of Lyon and Villeurbanne, the Rhône prefecture, and the Métropole of Lyon, state funds were allocated to open new shared flats in Greater Lyon. The Métropole of Lyon complements this funding and works with local municipalities to mobilize other vacant housing.

To secure its model and expand across the Lyon metropolitan area, Caracol continues to seek partners. Join its initiative!