Highlighting Hospitality: The Role of Citizen Hosting in the Reception of Migrants – An overview of the situation in Lyon and the Rhône Region in 2022

Since 2015, in response to the refugee reception crisis in Europe, numerous initiatives have emerged to address the needs of migrant people and foster connections between newcomers and host communities. This wave of mobilization has notably led to the rise of grassroots groups and organizations offering citizen-led housing solutions for migrants across many regions.

However, these initiatives remain highly diverse, scattered, and difficult to fully grasp due to their varied structures and approaches to reception. Mostly local in scope, they often lack visibility. While some coordination efforts have been initiated by the government—particularly in response to the displacement of people from Ukraine—citizen-led housing initiatives are still rarely included in discussions and decision-making processes related to migrant reception policies.

This study aims to shed light on the role, challenges, and constraints of citizen hosting by providing an overview of its landscape in a specific region: the Greater Lyon metropolis and the Rhône department in 2022.

Some key Figures:

• 1,254 persons were housed through citizen-led initiatives in the Rhône in 2022, totalling 279,322 overnight stays.
• 43% of those housed were displaced individuals from Ukraine, though 77% were accommodated through programs specifically designed for them.
• 618 housing locations were mobilized, of which 66% were private homes, 31% independent housing, and 3% shared solidarity housing.
• At least 1,630 volunteers and 450 households contributed to this effort.

These figures were collected from 10 NGOs, six of which are actively involved in the Citizen Housing Observatory in the Rhône, launched by Synergies Migrations in 2023. This study does not claim to be exhaustive: the organizations that participated in the survey are not the only ones providing citizen-led housing in the Rhône.

This study is not the result of a collective process and reflects only the views of the author.