Active during the fires that hit California, the Hand in Hand network is now working to put out another fire: the Covid-19. This listening and solidarity association, present in San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Los Angeles, is hard at work to help French people in distress.
Psychological help, support for isolated people, advice on returning to France, putting in touch with the consulate or other associations: the network is running at full speed. Three volunteers joined him in San Francisco. “We always need people to do this listening job, explains Sophie Lartilleux-Suberville, one of the founders of the association and consular advisor in San Francisco. We come in addition to the consulate, which focuses on administrative procedures. For our part, we have the skills to support our interlocutors in their emotional efforts.“.
Mutual aid associations, shelters, various solidarity groups: the Franco-American associative fabric is put to the test with the Covid-19. These independent associations, which work in conjunction with the consulates, must suddenly support a large number of separated families, people in distress or psychological distress, or seniors who suddenly find themselves isolated from their family circle or their friends. “We have to deal with individuals who find themselves in a precarious situation after a job loss. To others, we give tips to book their plane tickets. We also make calls to the elderly. They don’t know Zoom“, Explains Sophie Lartilleux-Suberville. At the start of the pandemic, we saw many requests. It has stabilized now. However, if this situation continues, it will see an impact on people’s well-being and their morale.”
“The morale is good”
In Washington, the veterans association Association of French War Veteran of Washington is also on the alert. Its president Alain Leca and other group leaders regularly call their members to inquire about their health.
The association has 53, including two World War II veterans aged 95 and 96. The other active members are mainly septuagenarians and octogenarians and therefore appear in the category of populations at risk. “The morale is good, specifies Alain Leca. None of them panic. They are used to difficulties given their journey. They have seen others. We do what we know how to do“.
The Frenchman, a veteran of the Gulf War, takes great care: he regularly sends them messages of support and has shared with them the numbers of all the other members to encourage discussion. He is also working on setting up a Zoom. “I have a big advantage: I am a computer engineer. I train them in how to set up a discussion system, an e-mail, attach documents… They get started!”His group is a member of the Comité Tricolore, a group of Franco-American associations in Washington whose mission is to come to the aid of people in need.
Non-connected population
In the consular district of New York (States of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Bermuda), Yann Coatanlem has identified nearly 1,500 people over 75 years old and 3,200 over 65 years old. This financier known in the French community of New York has set up a pilot project to help this population. Since its launch, with the support of the French Ambassador to the United States and other personalities from the community, ASCV (Association for the help of seniors facing the coronavirus – telephone: 888-313-5542 and e- mail: contact.ascv@ gmail.com) was in contact with 450 seniors reached by telephone by volunteers.
In the event of administrative or psychological difficulties, the latter put them in touch with other actors, such as Entraide française, a recognized support association that has existed since 1961, the consulate or the senior club L’Âge d’or. within Accueil New York.
“I saw a lot of initiatives from the public authorities, from the deputy Roland Lescure and the Senators. I said to myself: that’s good, but people who don’t look at their email or aren’t connected enough don’t have access to this information ”, explains Yann Coatanlem. He estimates that half of French people aged 75-80 do not have an e-mail address. “There is a whole category of the French population which is not known to the administration. Seniors, as they vote, are often reachable by the consulate, but sometimes their contact details are not up to date. In the future, it will be necessary to work with the public authorities to be able to reach the community in an exhaustive way, including the unconnected, because there will be other crises, medical or otherwise.“.
