For many migrants arriving in France, finding a home can turn into a real ordeal. There's a lack of resources and networks, and many administrative dead-ends. Some have had no choice but to remain on the streets, regardless of their status. Through all these trials and tribulations, associations or individuals are trying to help them.

Suzanne and Alpha* met for the first time in 2021 in the presbytery of Saint-Maurice church, in Lille. "The year LOSC [the city football club, editor’s note] became French champion," Alpha recalls. He’s an "absolute football fan," he says enthusiastically.

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At the time, the young 17-year-old Guinean was housed in a small room in the building, managed by the Catholic community of the Fraternity of the Parvis. He quickly found that talking with Suzanne, one of its members, was easy. The retired psychotherapist and the teenager often engaged in long conversations, sitting at the table in the presbytery kitchen.

"We talked about everyday things. And also about Alpha's problems," Suzanne remembers. "In church was the first time since the start of his migrant journey that he let his guard down, that he felt safe. It brought lots of things to light." 

Alpha's journey began at 13

Alpha left Guinea at the age of 13. "Life was very complicated for me in the village. I didn't go to school, my parents were dead. I, my two brothers and my sister, we lived with a neighbor. So when an acquaintance suggested that I leave for Senegal, I accepted," he says. "I hadn't really decided to leave, it just happened, in order to look for work. But I was lost, I didn't know where I was. I cried a lot."

After Senegal, Alpha traveled on to Mauritania. He then crossed the desert to Morocco, where he survived on "odd jobs" for two years. "I was sweeping people's homes." In Rabat, in the Takaddoum district, the Guinean earned 1 to 5 dirhams per day – (around 10 to 50 euro cents.) A person from the neighborhood then suggested that he go to Europe, "to earn more money." From Nador, in the north of the kingdom, Alpha climbed into a Zodiac boat.

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A few hours after his departure, the boat was perforated and water started entering the boat. Close to the Spanish coast, his boat, loaded with migrants, was finally rescued by the coast guard. But the young Guinean prefers not to give more details. "I was very, very scared. It gives me a headache to talk about it again."

'When I was down, Suzanne was there for me'

Landing in Almeria, in the south of Spain, the teenager walked kilometers to reach Irun, in the Spanish Basque Country, finally crossing the border and arriving in France. His aim? "Lille, because I was a supporter of the football team and of Eden Hazard [a Belgian football player, voted best player in League 1 in 2011 and 2012 with the northern club, editor’s note]." Arriving in his favorite city, Alpha moved from squats to homes. 

A host family in the region also welcomed him for a few months. "I had a roof over my head but there were a lot of us, we often went to bed without eating. That's why I called on the Saint-Maurice church." Every year, its presbytery saves two places for young migrants on the street who are waiting for the state to recognize they are under 18.

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Before Alpha's arrival, Suzanne, a member of the parish, had already been active there for several years. "Issues of migration, these are topics that move me. And I like talking with young people, they are always enriching exchanges."

'I said to myself, I want her to be there for my life'

Once he began talking to Suzanne, Alpha began feeling comfortable. He even forgot his difficulties in French. "When I arrived in France, I barely spoke the language. People always asked me to repeat myself, it annoyed me. After a few months, I barely spoke at all, I was ashamed, he remembers. With Suzanne, it was different. I immediately felt confident."

Over the weeks, a bond was forged between the young Guinean and the retiree. "When I was down, Suzanne was there for me. I said to myself: 'I want her to be there for life.' And on February 16, 2021, I made a proposal: 'Suzanne, do you accept to become my mother?'

"I didn't expect it," the volunteer says today, in a burst of laughter. "It was a very solemn moment, almost a little serious. At the time, I told him that I was going to think about it. But deep down, my decision was made." During her very first meeting with Alpha, Suzanne, who has no children, confides that she felt "something stronger than usual, as if I had always known this boy." So the psychotherapist talked about it with her husband, and gave her answer to Alpha.

'Adopting Alpha changed my life'

Preparations for his move into Suzanne and her husband's house began. But on July 2, their plans came to an abrupt halt: Alpha was recognized as a minor by the state, and was entrusted to child welfare services in Lille. "It was what I wanted, and at the same time, it separated me from my mother. It was a bit hard," the young man admits today. For Suzanne, "it’s heartbreaking. But we didn't let it get us down! We still went on vacation together. To Angers, Creuse and Burgundy, to tour the family with my son."

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Until he came of age in August 2022, Alpha was housed in a home in Lille. Today, he lives alone in social housing in Roubaix, and is studying plumbing. But he spends "all [his] weekends with [his] parents, and all the holidays." 

"I never imagined being able to experience these moments," Suzanne confides. "I didn’t have children with my husband because my life was built like that. But adopting Alpha changed my life. It gave my life more meaning."

Regularly since their meeting, the mother and son make a point of remembering their story. "We have a party on 'yes' day, in February," the Guinean explains, and "another, bigger one, to celebrate the official adoption, which was announced on September 12, 2022," Suzanne adds. "We organize a big meal surrounded by Alpha's friends and mine."

"I've been so lucky to have found people who take care of me like their own son, it's almost too much," Alpha says. "Even if I don't forget my biological mother. I miss her sometimes. A lot even. But even if she is no longer here today, I know that she sees me. And that she is happy for me."

*The first name has been changed.