By Julie Eslan
Published on
19 Apr 24 at 6:16 p.m.
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What if the key to a good retirement lay in L'intergenerational ? This is the postulate of the Maison de Marianne. This specialist in “solidarity housing” has already opened around fifty residences of this type throughout France.
Six are in Yvelines. In Maule (Yvelines), there is 116 residents. Seniors, families, couples and even single people: all generations and all ages are represented in the 72 apartments.
There are two conditions to be able to settle here: having the right to social housing and being motivated by desire to help others.
Promoting healthy aging
Because the important thing for the Maisons de Marianne is living together. We must therefore create the conditions to bring residents together as much as possible. “We worked on three well-being markers that allow us to age better: continuing to move physically, working on memory andaltruism », explains Raphaëlle Gilaber, general director Marianne Services.
Several times a week, activities are therefore organized from 2 p.m. Others sometimes take place in the evening: sewing, drawingsnack, outing outside.
Yolande, 54, has lived in the residence almost since it opened (almost four years ago, Editor's note). She lives in an apartment right next to her mother's.
“My mother was losing her autonomy. Here there was an elevator. I followed her because I didn't want her to live alone. For me, it's a second life, I feel like I've lived there for twenty years. »
Cake activities and board games
On Thursday April 18, 2024, during our visit, eight women were gathered in the common living room. Six are residents. The two guests were not there by chance. One lives in the next street, the other is the daughter of a boarder.
On the table, the ingredients necessary to make a Yogurt cake. Jocelyne, 82 years old, starts by pouring the yogurt then the flour and passes the container to her neighbor.
Once the cake is in the oven, no question of being unemployed. Delphine, responsible for the entertainment that day, has already released a board game, and not just any board game: Cranium. It works on both memory and mobility (mime, drawings, modeling, etc.).
The game lasts around thirty minutes. Exactly the time it took for the cake to bake. It is then time for tasting in a friendly atmosphere and lively.
Far from the world of nursing homes
When you pass this residence, nothing suggests that it is not like the others. The architecture is modern and the apartments seem ordinary to say the least. A desire on the part of the Maison de Marianne.
“We try to make pretty buildings that are neither marked nor stigmatizing. It is not an EHPAD, it is not a senior service residence. »
The residence is nevertheless suitable for people with disabilities and offers several services to those who need it (cleaning, etc.). “We make a list of service providers in the area when they arrive,” adds Raphaëlle Gilaber.
From studio to F3
The apartments range from studio (approximately 30 m²) T3 (65 m²). “The majority of accommodations are T2s of around 50 m². This is what best suits our customers,” says Raphaëlle Gilaber.
Furthermore, habitats are not not furnished, which allows residents to (re)create their own universe. Jocelyne lives in a T2. “I’m happy with my apartment, it’s quite big,” she admits. I have my kitchen, I have my furniture. I am well. ” All is said.