In Villeurbanne, a mass in tribute to the homeless, who died in the street, was organized this Saturday, December 14. It was followed by a distribution of Christmas gifts. This event was also a way to raise awareness about the living conditions of homeless people.
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This Saturday, December 14, in a church in Villeurbanne, a handful of people came to pay tribute to the homeless people who died in the street. Every year, in France, several hundred homeless people die to almost general indifference.
An annual mass, organized every year, wishes to remember their memory, and first of all, that of Jean-Claude, who disappeared five months after finding accommodation. “We found him on the street after 16 years on the street in the city center, just before December 8, 2017. I launched an appeal and we found a host family in Saint Chamond, we found him welcomed on December 8 in front of the cameras at the time and on January 1, he had the keys to his apartment in Saint Chamond, right next door”says Jean-Marc Roffa, president of the Donner La Main-Don de Soi association.“Unfortunately, he was so exhausted by 16 years on the street and three tours de Fance, that he was hospitalized on May 1, 2018 and he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was offered five months of freedom, of identity.”
This ceremony was also a way to challenge elected officials and civil society about homelessness. “There are babies, young children, teenagers, young women, grandpas and grandmas who are dying in the street. We are here to raise awareness. Zero homelessness is possible, but on condition that 'we roll up our sleeves and don't leave anyone out'declares the president. He denounces the indifference of institutions: “Ils n’unfortunately have the right only to the square of the indigent, without name, without first name, without mass and this is not tolerable”.
In France, we don't do much for the homeless. We open a small gymnasium from time to time but it is not enough.
Jean-Marc RoffaPresident of the Donner La Main-Don de Soi association
“I recently learned in Vaise in the 9th arrondissement that there were five emergency apartments for women on the street but which are unoccupied because at the moment they are not maintained. There is space in Lyon”, he laments.
The name of each of them was pronounced during this mass, as a final tribute before a distribution of Christmas packages: “Our friends on the street must be like us. We are in a country of freedom but also equality, they must be equal before Christmas, that's why we give them Christmas presents and before death, they should also be equal, that's why that they need a burial, a tomb and a religious ceremony.”
Ernesto Gesu, a homeless man who has just found a job and is looking for housing, came to the ceremony: “I cried a lot during this mass thinking of all those who died in the street, and then recently in the fire of a squat in Caluire,” confides the 65-year-old man. “When I was on the street, there were times when I was afraid of dying. One day I woke up with a man on top of me, he was cold, he was looking for warmth”. In 2023, more than 700 homeless people will have died.
