A service voucher system of 15 million euros will be set up in France for 60,000 homeless people who have had difficulty accessing essential resources since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, announced on Tuesday Minister of Housing.

These checks "will buy food or basic necessities, health or hygiene, in more than 220,000 points of sale," said Julien Denormandie in an interview published in the newspaper Ouest-France.

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The state will thus release 15 million euros to be able to provide the 60,000 beneficiaries, "half of which" is in Île-de-France, added the minister.

This represents financial assistance of seven euros per day and per person, which will be managed by associations in the sector, such as the Abbé-Pierre Foundation, the Catholic Relief Service, Emmaüs, the Red Cross and the Popular Relief.

According to the minister, to date "almost a thousand" of homeless people have Covid-19 and all are cared for in 40 medical accommodation centers, all over France.

In all, 164,000 homeless people currently benefit from accommodation, also assured Julien Denormandie.

With AFP

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