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Welcoming without passing judgement: dignity at the heart of our work

June 2026

Asking for help is never a trivial act.

Behind every door pushed open, every parcel requested or every meal shared, there is often a difficult journey, a concern, and sometimes a sense of shame or discouragement.

At the Restos du Cœur, we know this all too well: poverty is never just a single story.

And although situations differ, one thing remains essential: every person must be welcomed with the same consideration and the same respect.

Behind every request, a human reality

Poverty today takes many forms.

It may affect someone living alone, a family, a student, a worker, a pensioner, or someone simply going through a period of great vulnerability.

For many, asking for help remains difficult.

Poverty exposes people enough as it is — no one should ever be made to feel humiliated on top of that.

Welcoming without reducing a person to his or her situation

At the Restos du Cœur, food assistance is not limited to a meal or a parcel.

To welcome is also to listen, to guide, to support, and to make sure that each person is received with dignity, without passing judgement and without discrimination.

This approach is grounded in clear values shared across the entire network: respect for human dignity, equal treatment, active solidarity, and political, philosophical and religious neutrality.

For no one should ever be reduced to their financial situation, their past, or the difficulties they are facing at a given moment.

Dignity is also found in everyday gestures

A warm welcome, a hot meal, help with school expenses, support in accessing healthcare or housing: these gestures may seem simple, yet they have a concrete impact on the people concerned.

Above all, they remind us of something essential: behind every request for help, there is a person first and foremost.

In a context where public discourse on poverty is sometimes hardening, defending this dignity remains fundamental.

Continuing to uphold human solidarity

At the Restos du Cœur, we will continue to uphold a form of solidarity rooted in listening, and respect, and on welcoming each individual.

Because helping is not only about meeting a material need.

It is also about the manner in which that help is offered.

And because, beyond hardship, every person deserves to be treated with humanity and respect.

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