Secours Catholique du Finistère is 900 volunteers divided into 32 teams. They come to the aid of the most vulnerable. The association published Thursday, November 18 its annual report on poverty and it reveals that the profile of people who come to ask for help has changed. Firstly there is more families : more than the majority of requests for food aid are made by couples with children or single-parent families.
The workers are also coming in large numbers. Craftsmen, traders or people who have a part-time job. An audience that the association was not used to seeing, but whose income was unbalanced by the health crisis. They now represent 15% of beneficiaries. In 2020, Secours Catholique welcomed many students, came to seek social bond and companionship. Over 50s they too were more numerous. Young retirees who receive too little in the face of increases in gas or petrol prices.
What is also new is that the beneficiaries tend to come back several times. Finally, the median income has fallen by a few euros, it is now at 539 euros. In Finistère, a third of the people who go to Secours Catholique live below the extreme poverty line.
At Secours Catholique, there are also foreigners and people looking for work. For these Bretons, it’s good more than financial aid. In 2014, Anaëlle was 24 years old. She does not have a job and cannot receive the RSA. After several weeks of hesitation, she asks Secours Catholique for help. 7 years later, she takes stock. “I found myself in financial difficulty and therefore food and that’s how I started with Secours Catholique, with food aid. Then I was able to go to Lourdes with them. And then the last thing is my car. I had 1,700 euros in repairs and the association helped me buy a new car “, smiles the 31-year-old woman who lives in Plounévez-Lochrist. She now wants to return the favor. “I would be very happy to be able to contribute in turn, to be able to help. I have received a lot and I find it normal to be able to give back. To also show other people that we are not alone “, confides the beneficiary. Moreover Anaëlle now wants to go to the other side and she will be a volunteer at the Christmas market in Cléder, in North Finistère, on December 12th.
– Marine Clette
– Marine Clette
The association also has solidarity shops. In Landivisiau, Kristiné iron and fold the clothes. The young woman of Armenian origin arrived in France in the spring of 2019 with her family. She has been going to the store every Wednesday for 5 months. This activity is the start of a new life. “There is a very good atmosphere, I am very happy to work”, slips the young woman. She works alongside the volunteer Marie-Hélène, rather greedy. “Kristiné works very well. In addition, she brings us cakes with lots of cream … she is an excellent pastry chef! ”, smiles the volunteer. Thanks to Secours Catholique, Kristiné’s husband found a job in a tomato greenhouse and their children go to high school.