Laughter is heard from the shared kitchen. At the end of the summer, some young girls spend lunchtime on the ground floor of the “153”, a large red brick house, typical of the North, before going about their business in the afternoon. The residents of the building located in Valenciennes (north), aged between 16 and 21, victims of abuse in their families, were entrusted to the Social Assistance for Children (ASE).
They are welcomed at Maison Claire-Morandat, a system of the SOS Children’s Villages association dedicated to the integration of young people in difficulty, with this particularity: although, very often, the care of the “foster children” ends when they turn 18, the structure, created in 1986, has chosen to extend its support. One way of facilitating the entry into adult life of these young people with a damaged childhood, “those who are asked to become independent more quickly than others, even if they have heavier baggage”The director, Kacem Hamadi, emphasises thirty years of social work under the clock.
The Taquet law of 7 February 2022 established the obligation for the departments leading the protection of children to offer support until the age of 21 to young people in the ASE who are deprived of sufficient resources or family support, but it is not yet clear what form this may take. Indeed, according to the actors, there are still “dry exits” and support varies from one department to another.
The issue was on the agenda of the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the shortcomings of child protection policies, but its work, which began in April, was abruptly interrupted by the dissolution of the National Assembly, decided by Emmanuel Macron, on June 9.
In “153” there are twelve studios, each consisting of a bedroom, a bathroom and a small kitchen. The communal spaces allow people to meet; opposite the kitchen are the TV room and the “educators’ office”, where upcoming meetings with young people are announced. There is also a lounge and a garden.
“Sometimes it is difficult to face loneliness”
Nora (all the young people interviewed preferred to give only their first name), 18, has been living in her studio since January. “I think it’s very nice to keep us going until we’re 21”She said simply. Placed since she was 2 and a half years old, she has a history marked by family violence. She has experienced many places of accommodation (homes, foster families) before arriving at Maison Claire-Morandat, just before coming of age. “It’s like a family here, even if there are sometimes arguments with the young people. We have a hostess, Séverine, who is a gem. She is the mother we wish we had.”the young woman says enthusiastically, showing a childlike smile and braces on her teeth.
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