Victim of the floods of summer 2021, the couple had obtained rehousing under a “precarious” lease. The lease is now expiring. In three weeks, they will be on the streets.
Overwhelmed by emotion, parents find it difficult to express themselves and tell their story made up of small joys and dramas. Like the loss of a little girl, Madison, who was crushed to death in a domestic accident when they had left her with a babysitter. Of the eight children, there are six boys left and Selena, their youngest who has just turned 3 years old.
La Vesdre passed through the living room
In July 2021 the Vesdre overflowed in Ensival. The floods would change their lives. Rue Francomont, the water reached the first floor. “We lost everything. The house was uninhabitable. With the stress, Cindy, who was pregnant, gave birth prematurely. We received help from the DUS, the city’s social emergency system. At first, we We found ourselves in a two-room apartment with a baby, Selena, who had just been born. Then we were given larger accommodation but infested by rats and cockroaches. Finally, after two years, Logivesdre (company). housing in Verviers) gave us a 4-bedroom house with 278 euros of rent per month. This precarious lease, which was coming to an end, was not extended because of the large number of children..
Floods: firefighters intervened more than 500 times between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m. in the province of Liège (PHOTOS)
Michel and Cindy went to court but before the summer, the justice of the peace put an end to hope and ruled that they must have left on October 31 at midnight.
The caravan solution
Michel, however, had a solution. “Since the CPAS does not have accommodation for a large family, I offered to buy a second-hand caravan. I was going to resell the car, get some money for it and pay for an inexpensive caravan. Except which the judge did not accept because today, he said, living all year round in a caravan is only authorized for Travelers.” Looking for accommodation, they knocked on every door. They wrote to the Queen. They addressed the Walloon Minister of Housing. At Christophe Collignon, who had resigned, they were advised to wait for his successor, Cécile Neven. Malik Ben Achour, the deputy, tried to help them.
So, to stir up public opinion, they posted a video on TikTok where Michel speaks openly. “I assure you that if I am as thin as that, it is because I do not eat much and I prefer to feed my family. My wife Cindy, who gave birth to eight children, is as thin as a wire. We have nothing of our own. It’s all for our children.”. A real “coup de g***”said Michel: “I was revolted to have learned from the CPAS that we were not the only ones. There were around ten large families in Verviers who were on the street or threatened with being so”. The video has been viewed more than 35,000 times.
Family allowances
Family allowances pay 2,200 euros. The mother, Cindy, is a housewife, “a full-time job” she said. Michel is a member of the mutual insurance company. Too many misfortunes, he justifies: a complicated personal experience from childhood (mistreatment, abuse), the death of Madison, the floods, not to mention the rest. They looked to rent in the area. “We cannot find a 4-bedroom house for less than 1,300 and 1,500 euros per month that we cannot afford, nor owners willing to accept the presence of 7 children”.
Update on floods in Liège
To get out of it, their plan today is to become owners themselves.. “It’s the dream solution. We would finally be at home. We wouldn’t have to answer to anyone. The family, the children would be stabilized. It’s not unachievable with a ‘large family loan’. Social loans which allow access to property exist but for this you must have a minimum capital at the start..
Petrified
During the floods, which in addition to immense material damage caused the death of 39 victims, “they had promised to help the victimsrecalls Michel. We have forgotten that we are first and foremost victims. It’s not us who mismanaged the roadblocks. So, since they had promised and some are still in difficulty, the State, the Walloon Region, the banks, should make it easier to obtain micro-budgets for families like ours who have remained in the red. You need a starting capital, between 7,000 and 10,000 euros we were told, which of course I would undertake to repay.”
“Help us”they implore. Michel and Cindy were smiling when we left them. Smile, they said, to better hide fear. “We are petrified”. Petrified to know that there are 23 days left before being homeless, Thursday October 31, with seven children, and winter coming.
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