Les pratiques d’affiliation dans les Auberges du cœur au Québec : partir de soi pour s’inscrire dans le monde

Abstract

This article presents an innovative social practice aimed at teenagers and young adults who are experiencing difficulties in integrating mainstream society. Every year, the Auberges du Coeur du Québec network, which regroups 29 different homes and shelters distributed in 11 of Quebec’s administrative regions, welcomes 2500 homeless teenagers and young adults between the ages of 12 and 30. Opened 24 hours each day, every day of the week, they offer, besides food and shelter, a support for those who chose voluntarily to take the necessary steps to improve their situation. Based on the idea of social affiliation, this practice is sharply different from those currently implemented in the institutions that are part of the State social services network. The objective of this study was to develop a better understanding on the nature and specificity of this practice. Using a qualitative methodology, five different shelters that are part of the Auberges du Coeur network were thoroughly investigated. This article begins with a clarification of the various forms of exclusion experienced by a number of young Quebecers. These difficulties are explored through their relationships with their families, the school or the labour market. Then, looking at the social practices, different factors that promote or impede social affiliation and reinforce autonomy are examined ; namely: relationship to oneself, relationship to others, to the community and to the world.

Keywords

• youth
• autonomy
• exclusion
• affiliation