With the homeless in the summer heat: a patrol with the Samu social of Nîmes

Gaby, hot chocolate in hand, chats with Brice and Maëlle, social workers at the Red Cross. He lives in his car. Free Midi – Axel Dumond

the essential In the summer, the social emergency services of the Red Cross of Nîmes go on marauding trips every day. On board their van, volunteers and social workers provide food aid, but not only that, to homeless people exposed to extreme heat.

Brice Ségarrá serves hot chocolate "with two sugars." &quot ;Always!", confirms Gaby. The thirty-year-old lives in his car, not far from Terres de Rouvière.

Three raids per day in summer

The marauding of the Social Samu of the Red Cross of Nîmes this morning of Wednesday July 17 began with the "beautiful neighborhoods&quot ; from the road to Uzès. Several homeless people live there. "A little paradoxical", remarks Brice, social worker.

Maëlle Broquelaire, her colleague, also in an orange vest, gives Gaby a sandwich and bottles of water. The Nîmes man wears a cap. The sun is beating down. In summer, as in winter, marauding takes place 7 days a week in summer, from July 1st to September 1st. Twice during the day and once in the evening on average.

"I reward with the little I’have"

For the heat, Gaby says "already conditioned by last summer." He has lived in this parking lot for almost two years. His plan is to have accommodation. In Nîmes, for this single man to obtain social housing it takes "six years of waiting". Gaby receives disability-related benefits. The help of the Social Samu allows him to "put money aside".

"I reward with the little I’have." That's- say"lots of respect", humor and exchanges on various subjects. Music, cinema, politics. Gaby is very cultured, follows the news and watches numerous reports. He advises the two marauders to watch the film Lost Illusions and the YouTube channels Thinkerview and The Pencil.

Precious exchanges

"A bond of empathy" was created. Maëlle and Brice come to see him almost every day. Social workers do not seek to see as many homeless people as possible to distribute food aid to them. < em>"We have to take the time for them to tell us about their lives."

In particular so that they identify the needs of the homeless and support them in their efforts. Requests that could be a blanket, a shower or medical care. It is essential to discuss, "everything". "The first job is" ;rsquo;is almost that", says Brice under his sunglasses.

Louis' tent and Fabrice's bike

The 31-year-old employee, with the Red Cross for eight years, is still impressed by "the capacity of human beings to resist fairly extreme living conditions". Poverty causes terrible situations. "On manages to detach ourselves from what we see."

On the opposite side of the road to Uzès, near the city of the Spanish, Louis' tent is set up under the shade of a large oak tree. It’s a fixed camp. Louis has a coffee, tabbouleh and a pasta salad. Under his gray and white beard he speaks softly, answers Maëlle's questions about the temperatures, which rise as the days go by.

At the end of the tour, the marauders' van passes Fabrice, on his bike. "A year ago he lived on the street." Today, the former Samu social user lives in a hostel, before finding accommodation.