Stories

We met him on the street and have been accompanying Mr. W for several years now. As far as we know his history, his life journey has always been complicated. Despite the ups and downs, Mr is determined and certainly one of the most endearing person we work with!

He was born in Brussels at the beginning of the sixties. After a burn-out and a period of severe isolation, he lived on the street for several years. Despite having a home to live in, his health is visibly deteriorating.

Mr. B. moved into his new home on a Tuesday after having lived on the street for 6 years. It’s quite visible that he’s now well established there. He receives us with a cup of coffee. Medical appointments have been made to get his health back on track. And he let us know what this home had given him: peace of mind and, physically, the possibility to get a rest.

That morning reminded me of the importance to respect everybody’s personal rhythm in the healing process. It’s essential to give Mr. F. the necessary time, without undue haste, to overcome his difficulties.

Street Nurses does fantastic work but sometimes we run into a complicated system that offers us no solutions.

Seeing what Mr. H has to go through, we realise that much needs to be improved to allow these people, who we meet every day, quickly to leave street life behind.

As a voluntary nurse, I sometimes have, through the work of Street Nurses, interesting meetings with people who live there.

I hadn’t seen Mr. J. for a long time.

As his contact person for more than a year, I had ample opportunity to meet him, get to know him and accompany him in his good, and sometimes not so good, moments.

Last week, Mr. E. was told he had throat cancer. But faced with the news, he remained stoic. It takes more to upset him after having lived on the street for twenty years and having experienced about everything under the sun.

Mr. B's story shows how we can accompany people in their vulnerability by getting used to their situation, knowing that precariousness in a such a life is unavoidable – and that they already travelled a very long road.

We met Mrs. B in 2019 on the street where she had been living already for several years. She had developed her little habits in her neigbourhood and, for instance, often visited the supermarket around the corner to freshen up and use the facilities.

One aspect of my work that I find really hard to cope with are the deaths. When one of our patients leaves us, we must close their file and continue with the other patients. That’s a difficult phase - but that’s how it is in practical reality. How to process the resulting frustrations and questions is not something you learn at school.