Seen from the outside, with its red brick facade, the house next door is in no way inferior to the other beautiful residences on Boulevard Gambetta, in Tourcoing, to the north. These houses bear witness to the former power of its textile economy, which has been eroded by the blows of globalisation and subcontracting. a small panel “In our house” welcomes them and some photographs hanging on the wall bear witness to the work that had to be done to restore the place.
It is half past eight on this May morning and the large breakfast table has already been cleared in the dining room, whose windows overlook the garden. In the living room, Marine (the neighbours did not want to reveal their surnames), 38, is immersed in a word search puzzle. One of the daily pleasures of this woman who wanted to be a librarian. From his armchair in the living room, Arnaud, 65, the oldest person in the place, teases her about her passion for words, which she shares with her, who loves to read so much.
At first glance, it looks like a family home like any other, with its little frames on the sideboard depicting smiles and birthday cakes, its green plants and its colourful cushions on the big sofas. But the house next door is special: the nine tenants who live there suffer from stable mental disorders but cannot live alone. Far from the atmosphere of a psychiatric hospital or a nursing home.
The history of this innovative and unique place in France dates back about fifteen years. In the metropolis of Lille, several people are trying to create a non-medicalised place capable of accommodating a close relative (brother, sister, child) suffering from psychopathology in complete safety and in a warm environment. “It was about finding a satisfactory solution for patients who no longer have a place in a psychiatric hospital but who cannot live independently.”, explains Caroline Bonduelle, Arnaud’s sister. Together, in 2008, they created the Fraternative association.
painful journey
Often, each family has already gone through painful, sometimes chaotic journeys, with hospitalisations in very distant clinics, sometimes at the other end of France. As one mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, notes: “We tried a nursing home, but it went badly, my son was regressing. There is the option of foster families, especially in Pas-de-Calais, but we were looking for a place more open to the city, with possibilities for activities and a social life. We couldn’t find one. The only option left to me was to return home after hospitalisation, but that would have forced me to stop working. Financially, it was impossible.”
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