In our accompaniment of housed patients, we often see tensions around available money. To stay in their homes, they must pay the rent and avoid cumulating bills.
If necessary, we propose that our patients call upon an administrator to make sure the money is well managed. Of course, that takes away some of their freedom and control of their life. Not everybody accepts that.
Mr. T., however, was well aware that his situation was worsening a lot and during a hospital stay he asked himself for such an administrator.
Unfortunately, the person appointed by the judge was not up to his responsibilities. For weeks, he couldn’t be reached, and his condescending language and intrusive behaviour made the first contacts with our patient and the accompanying team very difficult. During several months thereafter, cooperation hardly existed, unless conflictual. As a consequence, our patient was repeatedly left without income. Not only did this period weaken his will to recover and ask for help, but it also affected the bond of trust established with Street Nurses.
After having reassured him, we finally managed to get another administrator appointed.
His financial situation is now stable, and the administrator is someone we have cooperated with for a long time and who Mr. T. starts to trust.
This episode is representative of the prejudice, obstacles and injustice confronting people with a psychic, medical and social vulnerability. It also shows the importance of surrounding oneself with the best possible cooperation – with people from different professions with the qualities required for accompanying our patients: humanity, sensitivity, availability, and the right responsiveness.
(*) We do our utmost to respect the privacy of our patients and our professional secrecy. However, we want to testify to how they must survive and how we are working together to reintegrate them. As a result, the names of places and people are deliberately omitted or changed and real-life situations are placed in a different context. There is no direct link between the photos and the stories above.