Parting, meeting and thoughts on homelessness

We walked into Montreux Gare this morning, in good time to catch a train that would reach Geneva airport by eleven o'clock in just eighty minutes. Lac Leman was shrouded in mist with just the snow capped peaks of the Savoyard Alps visible. Enchanting, mysterious, magical. We kissed goodbye at the security check entry, and I was back on a train to Montreux just after one. I had time to shop and cook myself lunch and eat it before welcoming a group of half a dozen church people for tea and cake with topical discussion on biblical themes. It was good to have guests in, to take the edge of being home alone in this large and welcoming abode.

Following the surprise appearance of Natalya at the Epiphany party on Sunday, discussion focused on homelessness, and the image of the Holy Family in exile. The reasons for anyone becoming homeless are generally complex, and it seems that modern life, although it caters so well in many respects, for needy and vulnerable people, doesn't cater for everyone in this kind of trouble. Here in Switzerland, so famed for its hospitality towards exiles and refugees over many decades (it is said, accounting for one in six of the population), there are still people who slip through the net because they are sans-papiers, not registered on anybody's system, lacking residence or work permits, even if they have a passport or i/d card. These do not qualify for social support, and can be eligible for transport as far as the nearest border, where they become someone else's problem.

This may particularly affect those with untreated mental health issues who cannot be fitted into any country's health care programme or budget. This was the case twenty years ago when I was in Geneva dealing with persistent needy individuals from far off places, not fitting into any of the usual categories of refugee or asylum seeker needs. All the expected provisions of care are there for citizens who have maintained an identity, or foreigners who have acquired the right to stay,  but not for those whose mental or social conditions have led them to disconnect from society and slide into anonymity. This is a human concern which knows no borders. I'd love to know who, if anyone is at work on these issues internationally.

Having arrived in the departure hall with the best part of two hours to wait before boarding, Clare found that her flight was delayed by an hour, just as mine was on the outward flight, but she was home again by tea time. She's not a noisy person, but tonight the house seems quiet without her.