Can you explain the chain of reporting that led to the discovery of an inanimate body on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in an apartment in the Kerbernard district?
Catherine Abiven, Director of Outreach for Brest Métropole Habitat (BMH): “It was the neighbours who alerted the caretaker because they hadn’t seen the person for a while and were worried. We very quickly took water meter readings, which showed that there had been no recent consumption. So we called the fire brigade to open the door. Unfortunately, this was someone who lived alone, rarely left the house and didn’t try to make contact. This is probably why there was no earlier alert from the neighbours or our own services, especially since her rent was paid by direct debit. She also didn’t have any children or close family, who can usually raise the alarm because they haven’t heard from her, or there’s no answer when they come by. There was really no warning sign here.”
“No: there was mail, but the box was not overflowing. This is also a difficulty: a few years ago, the boxes filled up very quickly, especially with advertising, which allowed us to notice a potential problem much earlier. But today, most boxes have “Stop advertising” stickers and we receive much less mail than before. This is also an element that is less easily noticeable for us.”
We try to get in touch with the family, we ask close neighbors, we can also call hospitals, take a water meter reading
Do the guards play a preventive role in this type of situation? What is the protocol in case of doubt?
“Our strength at BMH is that we have 90 guards present in the neighborhoods and they effectively keep watch. If they haven’t seen a slightly fragile person for a while or notice a shutter that has been closed for too long, they call us. Afterwards, we try to get in touch with the family, we ask nearby neighbors, we can also call hospitals, take a water meter reading. And very quickly, if we don’t get an answer, we trigger a door opening by the fire brigade. We do several of these each year. Sometimes, there is no one left in the home, but we have also saved lives this way, by discovering the person on the ground after feeling unwell. Sometimes we find the tenant sitting quietly on their sofa. But we also sometimes discover tragedies of solitude, like here.”
What measures can you take to combat this isolation of certain residents?
“At the time of the lockdown linked to the covid-19 pandemic, we targeted tenants over 75, which already represents more than 1,500 people in the BMH park, and our teams called them regularly to check their needs. Little by little, links were created. When the lockdown ended, colleagues wanted to continue this effort: with the support of the Office des retraites brestois (ORB) and the Clic
In Brest, we raised awareness of the issue of isolation among all our field teams: caretakers, housing advisors, litigation department, etc. Then, with the ORB, we set up “café-discut'” at the bottom of buildings for isolated people. We did this in Kerbernard, then in Pen-ar-Créac’h and Kerangoff more recently. We are going to continue this type of action, because we know that loneliness is a real, complex issue, and that we should not wait for people to come to us, but that it is up to us and the neighborhood structures to go to them.”
These initiatives to address the scourge of isolation and loneliness
* Local gerontological information and coordination center.
