Groghead in trouble...

[Boggit]

One of our members - Sauron40 (aka Vincent Kowolik) needs your help.

He has not asked me to shout out about this, but I would do this for any of you if I knew you were going through what he is. I have asked and been given his permission to tell his story, and to give out his email, so that you know...

Some background -

Vincent is a 49 year old registered disabled man who suffers, amongst other ailments heart problems, asthma, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (the list goes on).

Last year his landlord decided that he wanted to sell Vincent's studio apartment. This was solely an economic right being pursued by the landlord and Vincent, who has lived at the same apartment for 22 years had always been a good tenant and was never in breach of his tenancy agreement.

Now as a registered disabled man, Vincent was advised by his social worker upon receiving his eviction order to remain in the property and continue paying his rent. He is also "guaranteed" under the French "Dalo" law the right for suitable alternative accommodation to be organised for him by the French state, which they have failed to do. As from the time of the eviction notice he was also looking for suitable housing in the private sector himself, but was unable to secure any, as many landlords/agents in Strasbourg and surrounds will not accept publicly funded tenants. The duty of the French state to accommodate him is on going, as is their continued failure to discharge their statutory duty to him.

On the morning of 31st October a police officer evicted him from his home in compliance with the eviction order, despite the fact that the French state is still responsible for his care as a "vulnerable person". This action was all the more reprehensible by the Prefect of Strasbourg as Vincent would have been protected by another law (the treve hivernal or winter truce), which prevents people being evicted during the winter (for obvious reasons), which commences on the 1st November!!

Having been evicted from his flat through no fault of his own as his landlord wished to sell, since 31st October he has been out on the streets of Strasbourg France, and occasionally has managed to be accepted into a public temporary homeless shelter. At first he was able to stay occasionally for a short while with his girlfriend at her apartment (in another town), so things were not quite as bad, but they have now split up. He has already collapsed once on the street, and taken by ambulance into hospital overnight. At one point he was seriously thinking of taking an overdose of painkillers because of his situation.

To illustrate the hopelessness of the situation he emailed me from a cyber café:

"I cannot phone here and must try even if its useless the 115 to ask them (usualy over 30 to 50 calls before I can reach them) to ask them "if" they have something...If I don't the counter is reset and I can wait longer than 5 days wich was the longer since I'm homeless...I got a dormitory for 5 days after beeing outside for 5 days despite beeing taken by ambulancy to urgency 10 days ago..."

The situation of people living on the street in Strasbourg is utterly dire. Of the 3,000 or so homeless and mostly living on the street in Strasbourg on average 4 homeless people die each night from hypothermia and other causes. This time of year Strasbourg is a bloody cold place. Bear in mind that with over 3,000 homeless people in Strasbourg on the street, he faces a lot of competition for shelter. In some respects he is relatively fortunate - homeless women in are particularly vulnerable from the immigrant gangs who prey on them. Just a couple of weeks ago Vincent and several other homeless people managed to protect an elderly lady who was accessing a food bank from being robbed (and possibly worse). He has since been the target of verbal abuse from such people. I can only guess at what he has been going through, and whilst I have sent him some money it is not enough to keep him safe (and I'm on welfare due to disability myself!). He does get his disability pension, but as the most reliable "cheap" accommodation is a commercial 'bed and breakfast' his own money doesn't get him very far.

It is the cold that is his biggest problem. When I asked him about the recent terrorist attack in Strasbourg  he emailed me " Don't worry its not a bullet so far wich could kill me but rather coldness... Staying in the Tram in the morning and travelling waiting that the shoping center open and then the Malraux center. Otherwise when I have to go to the "bain municipaux" I take all two days a hot shower wich are free for homeless peoples since 2015..."

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/12/11/four-dead-terror-attack-near-french-christmas-market-strasbourg/2283185002/
https://www.tvlibertes.com/edition-speciale-strasbourg-frappee-par-le-terrorisme-journal-du-mercredi-12-decembre-2018

What can you do?

All I'm asking is that you spare a thought for a fellow Grog who is really suffering. If you can send him some Euro's via Paypal to help him, then that is very practical and kind of you. If you cannot or don't want to help him financially for whatever reason then that's OK too, but at least send him a message of support.

For a vulnerable person trapped in an awful situation not of their making, knowing that you are not invisible and that other people actually care you about is a huge motivation to survive.

OK. The ball is in your court... thanks for paying attention so far. :)

You can contact him at vincent.kowolik@yahoo.fr

[Staggerwing]

That's a really lousy situation to be in. I hope he has some good news soon.

Boggit, is PayPal the way you were able to send him some funds?

[Boggit]

I hope he does too. He is constantly looking for accommodation, but it is a tough market as many landlords will not accept tenants like him on disability pensions, even though he was a stable and good tenant. The French state has been utterly useless in their statutory duty to house him as a vulnerable person.

It is telling that homelessness in France is also an issue for the Gilets Jaunes protests against President Macron. Until Vincent told me, I had no idea of the scale of the problem at a national scale. I know that homelessness is a big issue here in the UK, but it seems that in France it is endemic in comparison. The problem for the homeless is further exacerbated by the fact that many of the French "charities" involved in homelessness relief are just focused on helping migrants, rather than native French people who suffer just the same but can't get the help. Here in the UK it is different with most homelessness charities helping anyone based on need. From what Vincent has told me, many homeless people just feel that they are invisible to a society often in denial about the prevalence of homelessness. That is another reason why any message of support is important.

Yes, I used Paypal. There is a small service charge for the currency exchange, but it is not much.

[Staggerwing]

I wish there was something i could do besides send money but I hope it helps at least a little.

[Ubercat]

How do you Paypal Sauron money? Do you just need to go to your Paypal account and send it to his Email?

"Migrants". Cute euphemism these days (in western Europe at least) for useless freeloaders. To add insult to injury, not only freeloaders but ones who utterly despise those that they live off of. If I came from a shithole country and went to a better land seeking a new life, I'd damn well be grateful and make every effort to learn the language and integrate. That's the kind of migrant that built the US.

Sorry for the rant.

[ArizonaTank]

How do you Paypal Sauron money? Do you just need to go to your Paypal account and send it to his Email?

Same question. Do we just the email address through paypal to send money?

Hang in there Sauron!

[JasonPratt]

"Same question. Do we just the email address through paypal to send money?"

Yep, that worked for me. (I only mention this for sake of the technical question.)

[Gusington]

Thanks for posting here, Charles. Going to my PayPal now.

Does Sauron have some kind of long term solution?

[Sauron]

Hello fellow wargamers, I write you from the Malraux media center wich allows me a free internet connection. I want to thank you for your support and especially JasonPratt and Staggerwing for having sended me money. Please accept my most gratitude. In fact now I can finish the month since during Christmas periode the hotels and even rb and b chambers were sold out or the price for renting tripled or more. I feel guilty for not having showed up more often at the forum but my life issues growed to the extent I could realy only use my spare time to deal with the most urgent issues to prevent the worse and it wasen' enough to prevent it last Oktober. In France we experience a worsening in the living conditions for peoples for quiet some times but now it became to the point peoples are getting desperate and desperate times usualy means depserate or extraordinary measures taken either by the citizen themselves or by peoples who have the means to change it drasticly like the army and-or police...Time will tell, maybe France will again experience a drastic change but usualy that means worse before it goe better as History teached us before...

I wish you all a merry Christmas and grog on! ;)

[Gusington]

Funds sent. Take care Sauron. If you can at some point, post your status again here.

[Sauron]

Hi Gusington, I will post updates of my current moves to get a decent home. In fact papers are already filled but its the french State wich is slow since the social flats are now top priority for migrants...We french peoples are put in competion with them and always get the shorter stick...The Malraux center will be closed for Christmas and I guess between new years eve also so maybe I can post between maybe not but after new year I will. As I said to my lawyer wich gave me a meeting for the 2 January, I live from day to day and cannot forseen in wich situation or shape I will be in two weeks but I do everything I can to prevent to get in harms way.
As Charles said, always look at the bright side of life! ^-^

[Gusington]

Stay strong, we're here for you.

[MikeGER]

Yes, I used Paypal. There is a small service charge for the currency exchange, but it is not much.

...looked like there was no service charge from Germany

[JasonPratt]

Probably due to Euros either way.

[Gusington]

Yeah my donation was instantly converted to Euros.