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France is experiencing significant population aging: by 2025, more than 28% of the population will be 60 years of age or older. This proportion is expected to approach one-third by 2050, while the number of people aged 85 and older is projected to nearly double.
This aging trend is accompanied by a major challenge of social isolation. By 2025, 2 million older adults will be isolated from their family and social circles—a 120% increase over eight years. Among them, 750,000 people are in a state of “social death,” meaning they are cut off from relationships with their various social circles. This number has risen by 42% over four years.
Loneliness also remains very prevalent: 2.5 million older adults feel lonely every day or almost every day, while for 4.2 million of them, this feeling has persisted for several years. People aged 80 and older, as well as older adults living in poverty, are particularly vulnerable.
Founded in 1946 by Armand Marquiset, the Petits Frères des Pauvres association works to combat isolation and precarious living conditions among older adults.
Its work is based above all on building lasting, close personal relationships. Volunteers reach out to isolated older adults, build bonds of trust with them, and provide ongoing support. The goal is to help each person reclaim their place in society, maintain their independence and ability to act, and, more broadly, rediscover a sense of vitality.
The organization also steps in when situations require more comprehensive support: material assistance, access to rights, support in the face of extreme precariousness, end-of-life care, or housing solutions. At the same time, it carries out awareness-raising and advocacy efforts to change perceptions of aging and to better amplify the voices of isolated older adults.
To be there, on a regular basis, where isolated older adults live: at home, in nursing homes, in hospitals, in shelters for elderly migrants, and in prisons.
What remains constant from one visit to the next is the fundamental need: to be listened to, to be seen, to matter to someone.
Snack times, neighborhood meals, outings, vacation trips: In 2025, 66,000 meals were shared, 2,800 people were able to go on a short trip, and 14,000 celebrated Christmas with a team of volunteers. It’s consistency that builds connections.
More than one in ten older adults lives below the poverty line. Difficult access to healthcare, inadequate housing, and insurmountable administrative hurdles: The Association does not replace public programs, but steps in to provide support and raise awareness, having disbursed 1.8 million euros in aid in 2025.
At the heart of the Petits Frères des Pauvres model is long-term support for isolated older adults. Volunteers organized into teams regularly visit the people they support, sharing outings, meals, and everyday moments with them.
These interactions help gradually rebuild relationships based on trust and break the cycle of isolation that has sometimes persisted for several years. The support is tailored to each person’s wishes, needs, and pace.
Les Petits Frères des Pauvres organizes special day trips and vacation stays designed to allow older adults—who are often unable to do so—to get away from their usual surroundings, enjoy new experiences, and build connections.
In 2025, the organization made the right to vacation for all a priority, with the goal of increasing the number of people who can go on vacation under safe and appropriate conditions.