Disability: De La Cour Au Jardin Committed to Adapted Housing with the Fondation Garches

At the initiative of its president, Isabelle Larochette, De La Cour Au Jardin has been partnering with the Fondation Garches since 2019. Together, they co-created a training programme — exclusive in France — for DLCAJ consultants, designed to address the specificities of adapted housing and fill the void left by a real estate market almost entirely built for able-bodied people. Interview with Sandra Pottier, Director of the Fondation Garches.

How would you describe the Fondation Garches and its missions?

Sandra Pottier: The Fondation Garches is a publicly recognised foundation in the field of research. Based within the Garches hospital, its mission is to identify and address needs that the hospital itself cannot meet for patients with motor disabilities: technological innovation, training, scientific conferences — and even a Wheelchair Testing Centre to help patients find the right equipment. We also respond to a frequently overlooked emergency: the psychological support of caregivers, who are often under immense strain and had no dedicated care provision. We have had a part-time psychologist for them for three years now.

As part of your partnership with DLCAJ, you co-created a training programme for real estate consultants. What is its philosophy?

S. P.: The goal is to give real estate agents a genuine toolkit. The programme has three pillars: the specificities of adapted interiors and types of disability, led by an occupational therapist; the financial assistance available to people with disabilities, presented by a social worker; and finally, the psychological approach — helping agents feel at ease and learn how to lift certain taboos. And there is one non-negotiable step: spending time in a wheelchair. They quickly realise how incredibly difficult it is. Even I — able-bodied — struggle to open certain doors at Garches. You can imagine what it's like for someone in a wheelchair.

How do you see disability today? Is there still a gulf between those who live with it and those who don't?

S. P.: There really is a gulf, and I am a living example. When I arrived at Garches eleven years ago, everyone told me it must be awful. In fact, not at all. What we don't consider is how these people perceive our gaze — and their own lives. Being around these patients has changed me enormously. One day, I offered a young woman with a very significant disability the chance to "give her some legs" by testing an exoskeleton. Her response: “Are you out of your mind? I don’t want them. I’ve always lived without legs.” My first lesson: talk to people. They are just waiting for someone to.

On the question of housing, what still needs to be done?

S. P.: Disability is not ugly. Being disabled doesn't mean you only deserve grey walls and drab surroundings. We all want a home that reflects who we are — not a hospital room. And inclusion starts at school. Children accept wheelchairs without judgement — it's adults who hold them back, out of discomfort or embarrassment. We teach children foreign languages, don't we? I think it's exactly the same thing.

You typically decline approaches from estate agencies. Why did you trust De La Cour Au Jardin?

S. P.: When Isabelle first called me, I was surprised and sceptical. I had the typical cliché of the estate agent — a salesperson — and I was afraid my commitment would be exploited or misused. After several conversations, I realised I was dealing with someone serious. For me, the idea is not to train every estate agent in France. It has to come from them, it has to be a genuine commitment — not an image exercise or a marketing move. That, I will not allow.

What message do you want to carry with the Fondation Garches?

S. P.: Keep an open mind. Rather than constantly adapting things to particular situations after the fact, why not think globally from the very start? Why rebuild a bus shelter when you could design it to accommodate every situation from day one? It's not a utopia. It's simply thinking in a more inclusive way.