Whether it’s a lick of paint, going to the cinema or just having a coffee, Karine Boccard always finds a moment to share an activity with the people accompanied by roof for me, an association that helps homeless people change their lives. Graphic designer and mother, she talks about the reasons that led her to be involved as a godmother and also as a volunteer in the social reintegration of the homeless.
It all started in the summer of 2020. On the occasion of a collection to furnish and furnish one of the apartments of the non-profit organization Toit à Moi, Karine puts down a box of decorative objects without really knowing where her feet are. put down. “I was not familiar with the association at all. While talking to the social workers on site, I understood that they were looking for volunteers to help participate in outings and cultural activities with the people guided to help them find a social life, so inevitable, it challenged me”, she recalls enthusiastically. As a graphic designer by profession, she started offering two places in her drawing lesson weekly. She then welcomes one person, then another…
The principle of Toit à Moi: the association buys apartments in which it receives the homeless or homeless and thus gives them the opportunity to change your life permanently† It is the method of “housing first”, which we already told you here. Once housed, each person benefits from sustainable and personalized support. which helps him to rebuild himself, regain confidence and restore. But it also goes on moments of pause and exchanges with the volunteers of the association, who help them smile again and set out on a new life, far from the streets.
From graphic design to drawing lessons
In parallel with the drawing lessons, she became involved in furnishing the apartment where she had deposited her box of objects and almost simultaneously became godmother of the association. One thing leads to another, eventually she creates expression workshops in the buildings of the Nantes branch of Toit à Moi. His classes are open to both children and adults. “There was a real need for it. For the more introverted, it’s often a way of expressing themselves without having to talk.”explains Karine passionately.
And for the most talkative, “Drawing is a good topic of conversation, we can talk about our creations, our inspirations…”† At home or at the association there are no rules, everyone is free to express themselves or not and can come whenever he wants. Anyway, “we always have a good time”, the volunteer testifies, with a smile on her face. Since drawing is far from her only weapon of conversation, Karine regularly suggests that people join the association see a movie in the cinemato be summoned discuss or from drink a coffee†
Meet the other
these activities, “allows you to put names, identities and stories on numbers”, according to this mother, revolted to see people the same age as her daughter (19 years old) sleeping on the street. And it is full of humility that Karine reveals that to us “join an association like” roof for me† it changes your view of the world, of life and of what you think you know †† “You learn to listen and go beyond your beliefs about how to help people, your biases, your biases”she continues gratefully.
Before that, Karine was already part of an association that helps relatives of alcoholics. “A problem often found in the difficulties experienced by people who once ended up on the streets”† And it was not for nothing that she herself had to cope with this plague in her own family. So for the one who has made the fight against alcoholism one of her struggles, “It is important to be able to share your experience”† “In addition, the advantage of Toit à Moi is that we manage to a very positive transition moment in the lives of people supported by the association”she emphasizes, always willing to discuss life projects and the future.
When she does not share a privileged moment with the people Toit à Moi supports, she sometimes paints the association’s construction sites. The apartments, renovated and furnished, can then receive and help out new homeless in their reconstructionheartily surrounded by volunteers as benevolent as Karine.
Do you want to contribute to this great human adventure on your own scale? You can volunteering or sheltering a homeless personit just happens here †