Nathalie Poverty Line
Christophe Gin
Agence VU
Poverty is more than a state people endure, it also shapes their lives. This often renders difficult any idea or reinsertion into a world which is no longer theirs.Paris, May 1996. Nathalie, a social outcast who had already been through tough times, gave birth to Leila. Nathalie was not yet 25 years old and her two sons were in foster homes. This is a story of everyday poverty on income support (RMI). She struggled between resignation and the determination to gain custody of her children, and this gave her the strength to face life.
Preview
When she was 13 months old she was put into foster care by the regional social services department (DDASS). At the age of 5 she went to live with her mother. At 17 she met the future father of her children. Having nothing to his name, he was not accepted by her family. Nathalie left home to go and live with him. When she was 19 she gave birth to Marc, her first child. Very quickly the couple ran out of money and became homeless. At that time, Nathalie was expecting her second child. Shortly after the birth she gave the baby to her mother to look after. After a short spell living in squats and hotels the couple split up. Nathalie was on the street. One of her children was with her parents, the older one with his own father. On 23 March 1995 the father was sent to prison. The DDASS put the children into care.
Nathalie then met Loup, who was there for her in her daily struggle and was her wandering companion. On 26 March 1995 the couple were part of a group who occupied an empty building in Paris. They lived in a shabby room for more than a year.
Loup and Nathalie learned to live without an income. For them society existed only through their dealings with the charitable organizations on which they depended. Their vision of the future could not extend beyond a few days, determined as it was by their need to find enough to survive each passing day. Having never experienced anything else, this was the only way of life they knew until the birth of Leila. Since the birth of their daughter in May 1996 Loup and Nathalie have been eligible for income support (RMI). Despite being a step up the ladder and a regular source of income it did not enable them to balance their budget; it just made the beginning of the months easier. In November the family was allocated a flat. For the first time Loup and Nathalie had a lease in their name. This new financial and material stability enabled Nathalie to get herself together again. More at peace with herself, she could look to the future and face up to her past. As she was more available, she got in touch with her sons again and visited them at the care center.
In November 1997 the judge decided that the children should stay in care for a further two years. Since then Nathalie has been learning to cope with her precarious financial situation. Obliged to budget very carefully to cope with the lean times between income support payments, she is weaning herself from dependence on support structures and is gaining in self-confidence. This new confidence has allowed her to go back and see her sons regularly. Nathalie is gradually regaining her rightful place. On 30 December 1999, at he end of her children's second term in care, she returned to court to fight for her rights as a mother
