Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- Carine and Yannick, two former homeless people, are getting married. The official wedding is yet to come, but last week the wedding dinner already took place at the social grocery store Les Capucines in the Marolles. “We will stay together until death do us part.”
“This is our wedding corner,” says Carine, pointing to five flower bouquets against the wall in her living room. Yannick (63) and Carine (61) have been living in social housing in Sint-Lambrecht-Woluwe since May, but neither of them had a permanent residence for a very long time. “We never slept on the street,” says Yannick. “I could always go to the shelters of Les Petits Riens, the Salvation Army and Poverello, among others.” That was also the case with Carine.
They met eighteen months ago in Lazare, a cohousing project where young workers and the homeless live together. “I was normally always afraid of men,” says Carine. “I used to be physically and mentally abused by men, so I don’t normally feel comfortable with them. I didn’t have that feeling at all with Yannick, so I went to talk to him. And now a year and a half later, we live together and we get married. I never expected this.”
They are not officially married yet, but Carine and Yannick already held a wedding dinner this week. It took place in the Les Capucines social grocery store in the Marolles. “It was fantastic,” says Carine. “We ate very well and we were surrounded by lovely people. There was even a cake. I didn’t know how to cut it, because I had never done that before.”
The social grocery store
Because Yannick and Carine are still not well off, they are part of Les Capucines’ ‘Courses pour tous’ project. As a result, they can do their shopping for free. “We help 35 families in this way,” says Émilie Many, director of the social grocery store. “In addition, there are 240 families who come here to do their shopping. They can buy products that cost about half as much as in the supermarket.”
The intention of the social grocery store is that people can still choose what they eat. “We don’t want people to be embarrassed to come here. We do our best to make it look like a normal supermarket as much as possible,” says Many.
“It’s good that there are initiatives like Les Capucines. That’s a huge help for people who don’t have a lot of money,” says Carine. However, she believes more needs to be done. “I see so many children who have to sleep on the street. It really breaks my heart.”
‘Friends of Lazarus’
Carine and Yannick still have close contact with the people from Lazare. “I still feel at home when I pass by there,” says Carine. “There is a dinner party every month and even the people who don’t live there feel good. We remain friends, les amis de Lazare .”
The people of Lazare will also be invited to the official wedding. “We hope to be officially married as soon as possible and we will stay together until death do us part. We have had a difficult life, but we have found each other” they told BRUZZ.
