“Never having to deal with bureaucracy alone”

(The following article by Paul de Theux first appeared in the April 2015 issue of L’Appel, pp. 12-13).  In 2001 a team of volunteers from the Brussels neighborhood of Koekelberg, under the leadership of the Assumptionists, launched an innovative initiative: accompanying individuals in need as they went through required administrative hoops to receive social services. The idea, simple though it may have been, answered a real need. In 15 years this non-profit organization, called “Accompagner” (“Accompany”), has lent a hand to more than 5,000 people. At the 2011 general chapter of the Assumptionists it was named one of 7 'mobilizing works' of the institute, works that, by virtue of the nature and quality of their work, serve as flagship ministries deserving of widespread support and imitation throughout the Congregation.)

It all began with a prayer group active downtown. “We said to ourselves that we couldn’t pray for these people without knowing what their concerns were,” explained Fr. Guy Leroy, an Assumptionist, a member of the group. “That’s how we began to accompany people through all the administrative steps they needed to take to receive assistance. I remember a young Syrian woman who learned three days before her twenty-first birthday that she could receive Belgian citizenship if she completed all the necessary paperwork before that date. We worked with her non-stop for those three days. The last day, just in the nick of time, she obtained the stamp she needed to complete her file.”

Never having to deal with bureaucracy alone

One thing became clear to the group: it was not enough to inform people of the social services to which they should address themselves. Some of them would simply get lost in the vast network of seemingly overwhelming administrative procedures. Others did not speak French well. Still others had become worn out and frustrated by efforts they had taken that led nowhere. François Mercenier, one of the very first volunteers, recalls a young woman who had to explain her situation to the police. On the way to the station, she told him everything that had happened but when she arrived at the station, she was at a loss for words. So it was that he could come to her assistance.

Launched in 2000

The idea to formally accompany people in need to deal with the administrative hoops they had to negotiate came to birth in 2000 when the Assumptionist congregation, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its founding, was looking for worthwhile projects they could undertake in favor of the poor. Fr. Guy, together with a group of lay collaborators, elaborated a project based on their experience in Brussels. At first it was not easy to convince the selection committee, composed of Assumptionists from five continents, that there were actually poor people in Belgium. Nevertheless, the project was selected because it was so concrete and because of the experience of its proponents. The budget that was approved by the committee allowed the project to get off the ground and an office was located near the basilica of Koekelberg.

Accompagner’s logo

Christened “Accompagner” (“Accompany”), the organization provides neither money nor food but offers any number of services free of charge. It operates with only two paid employees, a professional social worker and a secretary, and with a huge contingent of volunteers, some fifty or so, who offer their professional services and/or their availability for various needed tasks. All volunteers participate in an orientation program and then ongoing formation three times a year on such topics as interpersonal relations, multiculturalism, and behavior difficulties.

Since the launch of the organization, the number of volunteers has kept on increasing. Many of the younger volunteers can only serve a short while because of family and professional obligations, while retired volunteers provide a stable cohort. Another feature of the volunteer corps: there are some fifteen volunteers who are homebound and are called upon to be prayer partners, accompanying in prayer each person in need.

Short-term Services

Those who come through Accompany’s doors are first greeted around a table with a cup of coffee. A volunteer welcomes them and an easy-going conversation ensues. It doesn’t take long before they get down to brass tacks and begin describing their problems. Once the social work receives a file, she reviews the needs and devises a game-plan which she in turn turns over to a volunteer. After the volunteer carries out his task, he reports back to the social worker in order that she might stay on top of all the cases.

“Helping someone out might take a half an hour or half a day,” Fr. Guy explains. “As a rule, it is another volunteer who will help a case needs follow-up attention. We don’t want to create any dependency issues. Our goal is to create confidence and independence in individuals. Besides, some cases are extremely demanding and emotionally draining.”

A Service Much-appreciated by Social Service Agencies

In general the work of “Accompagner” is very well-received. “At first, “admits Fr. Guy, “I didn’t have a great opinion of people working in these agencies. In fact, with one exception in 15 years, I have found everyone to be of goodwill. But they themselves get discouraged when they see that certain people in need don’t succeed in resolving their cases for any number of reasons. So they are very happy to see us because they see that we will help people take advantage of their particular service and bring a case to completion, no matter how complicated it may be.”

Accompagner’s social worker welcoming a person seeking assistance

The work which “Accompagner” provides can prove invaluable in the courts as well. “A volunteer was asked to accompany someone who came brought her to the court-house in Antwerp. People in the court-room started heckling the judge, so he had everyone thrown out except the volunteer because he had official papers. The judge appreciated his presence and insights and, as a result, gave a more favorable decision than he might have if the volunteer had not been present,” François Mercenier recounted. “The person received a negative ruling; however, volunteers were able to help her understand the situation better, to accept it, and not to feel rejected.”

Partnerships

“Accompagner” currently handles about 500 cases a year. For some time now, social service agencies themselves have been referring people to them when they see that they need the kind of services only “Accompagner” seems able to provide. That’s why partnerships have been established. Some 62 organizations or agencies have signed an agreement with “Accompagner.” These partnerships have led to “Accompagner’s “taking on an additional 200 cases and each time there is a final report composed. These partners have come to count on the services “Accompagner” offers.

A volunteer of “Accompagner” in action

At present there is really no other organization in Brussels that provides the services “Accompagner” does. However, people from outside Brussels, both inside and outside the country, have shown an interest in this model. “I don’t think you really need a lot to get something like this off the ground, “Fr. Guy insisted. “A team of three or four volunteers would be enough. Just do it!”