A container village for Geneva’s homeless

A dozen homeless people now have somewhere to live, thanks to the “Noah” container village project in Geneva. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

Eleven containers have been provided by the aid organisation Carrefour-Rue in Plan-les-Ouates. Nine of them are fully equipped with beds, kitchens, showers and TVs. Another two serve as a meeting room and a laundry.

The land for the Noah project was lent to Carrefour-Rue by a property developer. The city of Geneva financed 15% of the CHF560,000 budget ($575,400), and the rest came from private donations. The same organisation founded its first village for the homeless, “Eureka”, in the Chêne-Bougeries area of Geneva in November 2014.

There is an acute shortage of rentable property in the city and people suffering from financial problems due to unemployment or divorce, for example, often have difficulties finding a decent place to live, especially if they are homeless. They can stay in the new container villages for as long as it takes them to get back on their feet again, and find suitable alternative accommodation. Those who can afford it pay CHF400 ($412) per month in rent.