World cuisine – “smiles and sun in the plates”, restaurant opened by Ghada, one of the participants of the Arise project, in the Grands Voisins. From 2015 to 2017, the temporary occupation of the former Saint-Vincent-de-Paul hospital has enabled more than 600 people in vulnerable situations to be housed, 250 associations, startups, craftsmen and artists to develop their activity in a new environment and all to have access to new outdoor spaces, meeting places and multiple shared activities. Above all, these 2 years have allowed us to share values of hospitality and generosity. The first season of the project, “Les Grands Voisins – Fabrique de biens communs”, ended on December 22, 2017.
Today, the preparatory work for the future Saint-Vincent-de-Paul district has begun. The Grands Voisins experience continues, adapts and is deployed in spaces still available until 2020. The intentions are still vivid: to bring together different functions and social groups, to experiment to fight against exclusion and isolation and to open up to the outside world, hoping to contribute to prefiguring the neighbourhood of tomorrow!
Over the months, the site continues its transformation and is enriched with new activities, meetings, original constructions and beautiful stories.