Strengthening Zone Bleue activities: extending opening hours and setting up a street-based social and health care team – Evaluation of the pilot project

For several months now, a crisis known as the ‘crack crisis’ has been affecting the town of Yverdon-les-Bains, as well as other towns in Switzerland and elsewhere in Europe. There has been an increase in street dealing and risky consumption in public spaces.
In addition, health and social care professionals have noted an alarming deterioration in the health of addicts. Indeed, crack consumption often leads people to neglect their basic needs such as hydration, nutrition, rest and hygiene, which has repercussions on their physical and mental health.
In response to this situation, the Zone Bleue association – a low-threshold reception centre in the Northern Region, located in Yverdon-les-Bains – has proposed a development project. This one-year project, supported by the City of Yverdon-les-Bains, aims to ease current tensions in public spaces on the one hand and, on the other, to improve the care provided to users. Designed as a one-year pilot project, it will be accompanied by an external evaluation.
This assessment is being carried out at the request of the Youth and Social Cohesion Department of the town of Yverdon-les-Bains. The results obtained will enable us to identify any adjustments needed at the end of the pilot phase, while providing useful analysis to guide the future development of services.