History
The ABEJ-LILLE (Association Baptiste pour l'Entraide et la Jeunesse – Baptist Association for Mutual Aid and Young People) was founded in the 1980s. It came about as the result of a meeting between people living in the streets and the members of a Baptist congregation in Lille. The Baptists belong to one of the families of Protestantism and their [best] -known minister is undoubtedly Martin Luther King.
This parish was started up in 1975. The members of this congregation were deeply concerned about the problems of society and keen to ensure that the Gospel should not go unheeded and they had a very particular interest in the poorest people, catering to the needs of people reduced to vagrancy on community premises. The idea which lies behind the ABEJ-Lille was born out of this direct contact with severe poverty.
Ever since it was first set up in December 1985, the ABEJ-Lille has had a vocation which means reaching out to the homeless, who had no form of social integration open to them in practice due to the lack of a centre where they could go to during the day, thus condemning them to irremediable and unacceptable vagrancy.
Catering for and supporting all of these people required real mobilisation and the association initially called upon volunteers and conscientious objectors (in terms of French compulsory national service) . The first day centre was on a double-decker bus parked right in the centre of Lille, in the Place des Buisses, opposite Lille Flandres railway station.
Right from the start the ABEJ-Lille was part of a militant, professional and also firmly ecumenical approach, with no religious divides.
Values
Due to its origins and as is stated in its articles of association, the ABEJ-Lille is a Christian-inspired organisation. The Gospel contains the values on which it is founded and which lie behind its work, which can be summarised by these words spoken by Jesus Christ: "love thy neighbour as thyself".
- Reaching out to other people and acting out of a desire for brotherhood.
- Believing that all human beings are priceless and deserve our greatest respect.
- Helping and providing any person with the resources to exercise his or her freedom as a human being and as a citizen
- Believing that anyone can hope and build him or herself a future with a place in society and that the poorest people, in particular, can escape from exclusion.
The ABEJ-Lille attempts to bring these values to life and to apply them to each of its initiatives.
Today, regardless of their philosophical or religious convictions, ABEJ-Lille volunteers and employees come together to put these values into practice in the project in order to help the poorest people.
An educational project
The work of the ABEJ-Lille is first and foremost a whole initiative designed to cater to the needs of people living on the streets and to help them find a way out.
Drawing on this conviction that anyone can find a way out of exclusion, the ABEJ-Lille has chosen to look after the most deprived people in society, in other words the homeless. The goal it has set itself is to provide comprehensive care for people living on the streets and to take the various issues which lie in the way of their social integration into account.
There are three targets
- To cater to people's needs
Being homeless means you have nowhere to call your own. Catering to people's needs is a basic gesture of brotherhood and must be the cornerstone of any social work. Providing someone with a place to sit down and just be themselves helps to restore dignity.
- To provide care
Health is about far more than not being ill: it is a state of well-being. People who are out on the streets are in poor health because they no longer have the bare minimum they require to live decent lives. Taking care of people and helping them to take care of themselves is the aim of both medical staff and social workers.
- To provide support
It is a matter of encouraging people's social integration in the fields of the law, physical and mental health, housing, education, leisure activities, training and employment and thus helping them to get a taste for life back.
Resources
In order to achieve these aims, the ABEJ needs the support of the combined, complementary work of committed professionals and highly motivated volunteers.
Various organisations have been set up:
- Day centres
- Health centre
- Integration workshops
- A hostel providing accommodation
- Social residential homes
There are various services available there: basic hygiene, help with administrative formalities and access to rights, a friendly space where they can rest, access to education, chaplaincy, etc.
An association on the move
The association steps in whenever the existing system does not provide a sufficient response to the needs of homeless people, especially those most on the fringes of society.
In terms of reception and support, the ABEJ-Lille looks for appropriate answers and innovates with the aid of both public and private partners, always attempting to offer a greater contribution to the integration and well-being of people living out on the streets.
The ABEJ-Lille's own special experience also means that it thinks about the phenomenon of exclusion and great vulnerability and gives it the responsibility of calling the public authorities to account and raising awareness in society.
1 Translator’s note: This word is missing in the original French but the meaning is obvious.
2 Translator’s note: I’ve added this explanation because National Service ended in the 50s in the UK so “conscientious objector” is only ever really used as a “historic” term.
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