About Us
HALEM, Habitants de Logements Éphémères ou Mobiles (inhabitants of temporary and mobile homes) The aim of Halem is to promote the legal inclusion and social acceptance, of low-impact, temporary and mobile dwellings. Created in 2005 by a collective of camp-site residents and their supporters, who mobilised against an eviction order, the association rapidly expanded to work towards a legal recognition for all types of alternative dwellings. Such as: caravans, wagons, camping cars, trucks, buses, huts, sheds, yurts, tents. Halem has chosen an inclusive approach, fully embracing the diversity of peoples, dwellings, locations and lifestyles. These homes, whether for families, collectives or individuals, are the reflections of a multitude of different situations and can be found in urban, suburban and rural settings. They offer answers to the housing crisis, or they fulfil a need to travel for economic reasons (temporary work), or they can be a response to the desire to live in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Some people choose this lifestyle, other people are born into it and see it as their cultural heritage, while for others it is an economic necessity. Even though these dwellings have been adopted as a housing solution by a wide and ever increasing range of people, the state has chosen to reply with repressive measures: prohibitions, evictions, social controls. Halem is pro-active, and works towards influencing the decisions made by urban, town and country planning departments, in order to protect temporary, low-impact, and mobile home dweller’s rights. The association organises various events: collective analyses of particular situations from legal and practical points of view; close attention and study of all legal developments; collective pooling together of knowledge and experiences; support; legal processes; and protest gatherings. Halem has, on several occasions, been involved in successfully opposing the passage of a bill of law, for example LOPPSI 2, which would have seriously threatened the fundamental rights of the inhabitants of these dwellings. Halem works with several networks, and also in partnership with the “fédération Droit Au Logement” (DAL – Right to Housing). Today, Halem would like to develop an international network, working in partnership with other organisations, on the question of temporary, low-impact, and mobile dwellings, with the aim of exchanging information about the situation in different countries and sharing legal and practical knowledge.