His narrowed eyes betray a big smile hidden under his mask. Installed in the parking lot of a Crous residence in Fontenay-aux-Roses, Quentin, 20, hands out a packed lunch to a student who has come to get something to eat. “It feels good to feel useful,” says the young man.
This Wednesday afternoon, Quentin takes part in the food distribution organized within the framework of the departmental device “Active watch young people 11-25 years”. “We try to include young people in solidarity actions so that they feel valued,” explains Philippe Da Silva, in charge of prevention of the system. They are somewhat forgotten about this crisis. But in ten years, they are the ones who will be found and who will suffer the consequences of all this. “
This “watch” was therefore created from the first weeks of confinement. With a single goal: to prevent difficult situations among young people already identified by institutions such as Pôle Emploi or National Education, or by local associations. Three cities are targeted, initially: Bagneux, Bourg-la-Reine and Fontenay-aux-Roses.
“We were worried from the start, recognizes Philippe Da Silva. We knew that confinement could lead to domestic violence, dropping out of school, difficulties in feeding. So, we anticipated. “
Five hundred young people aged 11 to 25 are quickly identified. We make regular phone calls to them to hear from them. A Facebook page and an Instagram account are created to offer them an “easy way” to contact the day before.
But above all, the department, via this device, wants to include young people in slightly more concrete actions, just to get them out of boredom and make them “active”. “We are putting young people back at the heart of their own decisions. It’s a way of making it autonomous, ”insists Philippe Da Silva.
“For us, deconfinement does not change much”
This Wednesday afternoon, some young people came to lend a hand to students of Crous, with whom the department has established a partnership. “This packed lunch will allow me to breathe,” says Chloé. The young student has calculated all her expenses to the nearest penny for the past two months.
