I went with a colleague to visit two brothers we follow in their homes. They are quite young compared to our usual patients. We had agreed with to meet at one of them and go to the cemetery to visit their mother's grave. They want to go there together every January on the anniversary of her death. Once there, one after the other observed a moment’s contemplation. My colleague and I stayed aside so as not to disturb them.
After this somewhat intense moment, all four of us went for a bite to eat. Although we were a little concerned (their relationship fluctuates between "very good" and "tense"), it was a moment when time stood still. It made our connection even stronger, and they told us how important they found our accompanying them on this visit. As if Street nurses were a family that helped them grow and kept alive the memory of their parents, whom we also knew. It was very moving - and I realized what place we fill as field workers and how beautiful our relationship of trust is.
It was very quiet on the way back. We listened to music. The two brothers were silent, lost in thoughts. They thanked us and explained that they wouldn't have done it without us.
My colleague and I were very impressed with this accompaniment, with its authentic, real, even intimate atmosphere, very different from the usual medical-social approaches. It is at times like this that the work takes on its full meaning.
Testimony of Clémence, social worker
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(*) 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.