Dressed in a thin white sweater and with pearls around her neck, Claudine put on her 31 for this New Year’s Eve in a restaurant in Mons-en-Barœul. Around the table, volunteers from the Little Brothers of the Poor and other elderly people who, like her, have no one to spend the holidays with, this Friday, December 24, 2021.
“I am happy to be able to have gifts, eat a good meal and see my friends again!“, she exclaims. This traditional meal could not take place last year, because of the gauges set up to fight against the Covid.
“This is my family at heart”
In Hauts-de-France, a thousand people are supported by the association of the Little Brothers of the Poor. According to a barometer published in 2021 by the association, 530,000 people are living in a situation of social death in France.
– Theo Boscher
This is the case with Liliane. At the table with four other people, this 71-year-old retiree has, in her words, no family since her husband died. The holiday season is often painful : “Here, it is a family of heart. Because the period is extremely hard, a person who is alone, it is a horror so we bring each other affection.“
Find contact for the holidays
Almost 50 seniors enjoy this meal, surrounded by around thirty volunteers. They live alone or in nursing homes, in the Lille metropolis. The clamor and the discussions rise in the room as the plates are served and the champagne flutes toast. Oumar is in the middle of a discussion with the people next to him. “It’s a good opportunity to get to know each other, explains the one who comes for the first year. We talk to people who are a bit lost in life.“
Smiles are displayed on the faces of the elderly, who confide in their loneliness all the rest of the year when their family lives far away or when they no longer have contact with them. “We want to make ourselves available at Christmas time and we also think of people who don’t have the chance to celebrate, because they have no family.“, also smiles Fabienne, a volunteer for 4 at the Little Brothers of the Poor.
Because of the Covid, there was no DJ to animate the dance floor but a magician, applauded after his conjuring tricks. An afternoon which ended with an exchange of gifts between volunteers and accompanied.