In the department, many people live below the poverty line. A situation accentuated by the absence of social benefits to which they could claim.
As the cold and winter are fast approaching, Secours catholique is preparing for its national day. This weekend (read the program below), the emphasis will be on raising awareness and awakening to solidarity. Ahead of this mobilization, the Haute-Loire delegation took stock of the state of poverty in 2024.
The hassle of access to rights
In France, the poverty threshold is €1,200 for a single person. And for many, access to social benefits does not compensate for this poverty. The problem intensifies with that of rights, more and more difficult. Physical counters are becoming rarer, social action centers are moving away and the digitalization of life is leaving people behind. “When you don't have a computer or don't know how to use it, everything becomes complicated. More and more elderly people are integrating our statistics,” explains Alain Guérin-Boutaud, departmental delegate of Secours catholique. This is one of the association's main projects. Access to rights and social benefits has become a way of the cross for many households. “According to Secours catholique statistics, a third of people eligible for RSA (Active Solidarity Income) do not request it. And a quarter of retirees eligible for the Solidarity Allowance for the Elderly (ASPA) do not claim it either.
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It’s a significant lack of information that pushes people into poverty,” continues Alain Guérin-Boutaud. Volunteer and co-responsible for the Brivadoise branch, Pascale lived in precarious conditions. “Six months after my retirement, my rights were suspended for an inspection. I wasn't worried, I had some savings set aside. But this control lasted much longer than expected. After three or four months, I had almost nothing left. But I had electricity bills to pay,” she recalls. It was at that moment that she found the courage to contact Secours catholique to request emergency, reimbursable aid. And, after taking stock of her fixed charges, her request was accepted and the retiree was able to receive €600 left to live until her rights were frozen two months later.
“New poor”
Like Pascale, many people who asked for nothing can fall into precariousness overnight. “They are the “new poor” and they are created by the French administration. There are no explanations and it is not possible to go to a counter to obtain more information. All this is not acceptable,” protests the departmental delegate. In 2020, an emergency commission was created in collaboration with Secours populaire, the Red Cross and Emmaus in order to respond to this type of call for help.
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“Between 2023 and 2024, the number of requests for emergency aid increased in Haute-Loire. We were at 200 two years ago and we should be around 365 at the end of this year. » Even if it is not a public service, the association is working to make things happen. An agreement is about to be signed with Health Insurance. And contacts could also be established with Caf. “We provide an individual response to people, but we also have this advocacy role to advance the problem at the source. Because, as our founder Jean Rodhain said, we do not give in charity what is due in justice,” concludes Alain Guérin-Boutaud.
On the program
National Day.
At Puy : sale at the boutique rue Auguste-Aymard, this Friday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
In Monistrol : bric-a-brac this Friday and Saturday morning at the Parish House.
In Saint-Paulien : clearance sale, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In Brioude: sale of candles and cakes on the market, Saturday morning.
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