Groupement pour l'insertion des handicapés physiques

The Groupement pour l'insertion des handicapés physiques (GIHP) is a French non-profit association and network founded in 1964 in Nancy by Gérard Crombez. It began when students with physical disabilities, meeting in the only accessible university residence of the time, refused to let their impairments block their studies. The first adapted transport service in France was launched in Nancy in 1964 with a van lent by the CROUS and driven by volunteers. The GIHP was officially recognized as being of public utility in 1969. Today the national GIHP is the head of a network of twelve affiliated associations and the adapted-transport company Synergihp, created in 2000. The network represents more than 4,000 members and works on three priority axes: mobility, housing, and support. It advocates for the full citizenship of people with disabilities regardless of the origin or cause of their situation, and it also addresses employment, education, health, culture, and leisure. The GIHP's activities include adapted transport services in cities such as Paris, Nancy, Bordeaux, Brest, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Lyon, La Réunion, Marseille, and Berck; student residences and housing units; home-support and life-assistant services; accessibility consulting; and peer mentoring. It represents disabled people before public authorities at national, regional, and local levels. Governance has included Louis Bonet, appointed national president on 29 September 2007, and Alain Ribager, who has chaired the national council since September 2020. The organization is a recognized association of public utility and operates as a private non-profit entity.

The GIHP was founded in 1964 in Nancy by Gérard Crombez, a student born in Tulle in 1941. Students with physical disabilities from across France met in the only accessible university residence at the time and refused to let their physical impairments become an obstacle to their studies. The first adapted transport service in France began in Nancy in 1964, using a van lent by the CROUS and driven by volunteers. The association quickly distinguished itself by creating transport services in Paris, Nancy, Bordeaux, Brest, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Lyon, La Réunion, Marseille, and Berck, allowing people with physical disabilities to travel to university or work more easily at a cost close to that of public transport. In 1969, only five years after its founding, the GIHP was recognized as being of public utility. In the early 1970s, it also founded housing facilities in major French cities such as Montpellier, Amiens, and Nancy to facilitate the studies of young people with physical disabilities at university. These were organized as associations, such as the AGI in Nancy/Vandœuvre, which could accommodate 26 people. In 2000, the national GIHP created Synergihp, an economic and professional arm to meet the new challenges of adapted transport. Over the decades, the network's associations expanded beyond rights advocacy to develop personal services, life-assistant services, housing units and services, accessibility consulting, student residences, and peer mentoring. Leadership evolved over time. On 29 September 2007, the national board entrusted the national presidency to Louis Bonet, a friend of Gérard Crombez, a lawyer in Nancy, and a member of the association since the 1970s. Since September 2020, the national council has been chaired by Alain Ribager. Gérard Crombez, the founder, was born on 26 March 1941 in Tulle. He held a CES in general mathematics and physics and a CEA in applied mathematics. He met with figures such as Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, Simone Veil, Alice Saunier-Seité, and Pierre Bérégovoy, who supported him in their respective mandates. He raised public awareness and challenged statesmen, declaring on 27 March 1971: "Des partis politiques défendent à juste titre les classes défavorisées dont trop peu de représentants accèdent aux amphithéâtres, mais qui, je vous le demande, montera sur les barricades à la place et pour les handicapés physiques !" In 1978, he was invited by the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun to participate in an international congress on man and transport in Tokyo. He died during one of his many travels, in Bali, Indonesia, on 4 September 1980. He was a knight of the Palmes académiques, a knight of the National Order of Merit, and held the honorary medal of Youth and Sports.

• 2020

  Alain Ribager becomes president of the national council in September.

• 2007

  Louis Bonet appointed national president on 29 September.

• 2000

  National GIHP creates Synergihp, an adapted transport company.

• 1980

  Founder Gérard Crombez dies in Bali, Indonesia, on 4 September.

• 1978

  Gérard Crombez invited by Asahi Shimbun to an international congress on man and transport in Tokyo.

• 1971

  Founder Gérard Crombez publicly challenges political parties on disability rights on 27 March.

• 1969

  GIHP recognized as being of public utility.

• 1964

  GIHP founded in Nancy by Gérard Crombez; first adapted transport service in France launched with a CROUS van and volunteer drivers.

Non-profit advocacy and service network for the full citizenship and autonomy of people with physical disabilities.

• Adapted transport services

  Services in Paris, Nancy, Bordeaux, Brest, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Lyon, La Réunion, Marseille, and Berck, allowing people with physical disabilities to travel to university or work at a cost close to public transport.

• Synergihp

  Adapted transport company created in 2000 as the economic and professional arm of the GIHP network.

• Student housing and residences

  Housing facilities founded in the early 1970s in cities such as Montpellier, Amiens, and Nancy, including the AGI in Nancy/Vandœuvre accommodating 26 people.

• Home support and life-assistant services

  Personal services, life-assistant services, and accompaniment for travel.

• Accessibility consulting

  Consulting services for accessibility of public spaces, buildings, and housing.

1. 1GIHP | handicapreseaugihp.wixsite.com
2. 2Groupement pour l'insertion des handicapés physiquesfr.wikipedia.org
3. 3Groupement pour l'insertion des handicapés physiqueswikidata.org