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Solidarity. The great telephone tour of Saint-Nicolas

“Hello Madam, here Saint-Nicolas. How are you ? “In recent days, Leila has been making more phone calls using this friendly formula. Deserted by its users (the structure is closed to the public), the Espace Saint-Nicolas is currently akin to a telephone platform. Every day, a dozen or so employees carry out an emotional “canvassing”.

As during the first confinement, this place essentially devoted to catering and entertainment for seniors has not cut the link with a wider public. “The daily calls do not only concern our regulars. The listing also includes, for example, the inhabitants registered on the heat wave plan. This represents a total of 300 people, ”reveals Stéphanie Kis, municipal assistant in charge of social affairs.

The elected official knows the meaning of the process. The reason ? She gave of her person during the first “phoning” session last spring.

“People in tears”

“I remember this endearing person. She told me that I was her angel, ”breathes the city councilor. She remembers still other telephone exchanges, interspersed with poignant silences: “People in tears, totally isolated. And there are some in Thionville. People without family, without support, for whom confinement has sometimes awakened bad memories, comparable to what I experienced during the war , some even told me ”.

Stéphanie Kis today detects a big difference with the first turn of the screw decreed by the State: “The situation is different. In April, people did not go out, there were no masks, no perspective on the disease ”. The callers of the Espace Saint-Nicolas then focused as a priority on essential aid: promoting the delivery of food, the delivery of drugs, transport for medical appointments.

“Barriers have fallen”

“There, even if we still ensure a link with the association Theras Santé for the delivery of meals at home, we are no longer on this ground. Others have taken over, ”observes Brigitte Di Marzio. The site manager refers to the (only?) Positive side of the famous first wave of Covid-19 which swept through the country: “Many testify to the support, for the races or others, that their neighbors still give them today . Barriers have fallen. This bond which has been created with the elderly has not been broken ”.

This kind of beautiful story is sometimes collected by the personnel of the Espace Saint-Nicolas. “All the staff,” insists the director. From the administrative employee to the maintenance staff, everyone is again mobilized for this mission of phoning, listening, more than ever vital. “

Leila hangs up. And dial a new number. “Hello, here Saint-Nicolas …”

To report an isolated person at the Espace Saint-Nicolas: tel. 03 82 53 23 72.

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