The Réussite Connectée program in Provence – Alpes – Côte d’Azur

Born during the confinement, Break Poverty’s Réussite Connectée program fights against the digital divide and helps prevent school drop-out by accompanying each young person towards a career path that matches his or her aspirations: a particularly relevant battle for young people in the Aide Sociale à l’Enfance system, whose difficulties in their life paths often lead to them falling behind at school or dropping out.

As part of the Réussite Connectée program in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, each of these young people received a reconditioned computer and an Internet connection, enabling them to benefit from distance mentoring operated by the Afev association. Mentoring is a voluntary activity supervised by a professional structure, which builds an interpersonal relationship between a young person and a mentor, and whose objectives vary according to the age and needs of the young person: academic support, cultural openness, mobility, projection towards post-baccalaureate training, professional orientation… are just some of the subjects addressed during the sessions.

The day of March 19, spent alongside AMADE and Afev, was an opportunity to discuss the challenges and impact of mentoring. The testimonies of seven young people aged between 11 and 20, as well as those of their mentors, were gathered thanks to the support of three Aide Sociale à l’Enfance organizations that have been partners of the program since its deployment in the region: the Montjoye association, La Fondation de Nice, and SOS Village d’Enfants.

“Mentoring helps me to move forward, to feel a little less alone”

These words from Corinne*, a nursing school student mentored by Nadia, a medical student, illustrate the power of mentoring. The young people we mentor talk about the support mentoring gives them, the possibility of having a confidant, someone with whom they can talk freely about subjects that affect or interest them. This relationship of trust is mentioned by several young people: different from that of a parent, an educator or a teacher, the mentor has a very particular posture: “it’s like friendship… but with a bit of schooling all the same” confides Sophie*, 17, who is in the process of reorienting her career in the early childhood sector.

During the immersion day, the young mentees told us that they particularly like to feel listened to : “My mentor knows how to listen, and she knows how to advise” (Sophie). “I explained my situation to her, why I was at the Children’s Village, and she understood” (Emma*).

“A moment in life” and ”a human experience

Some young people emphasize the warmth of these weekly get-togethers, like Emma, 11, who pairs up with Angelyne, with whom she engages in fun activities every Saturday morning: “ I’m always happy when I stop the video, because it’s good, we have fun, etc. It’s so good ! It’s so much fun ! “ For both mentors and mentees, this “human experience” enabled them to step out of their comfort zones, and meet other young people outside their usual social circles: “It was a new experience : I recommend it ! “It’s always a life-changing experience,” confides Timéo*, 16, in high school, who is hosted by the Fondation de Nice.

While mentoring is a particularly relevant form of local support for young people from the ASE, it is also a very enriching experience for Afev’s mentors. The mentors, who are students recruited and trained by AFEV, testify to the benefits they derive from this relationship, emphasizing the change of outlook and the perspective they gain on certain aspects of their lives: “She helps me a lot because she has a lot of perspective on a lot of things that I didn’t have at her age”, says Laurine, Sophie’s mentor. This weekly accompaniment is described as very gratifying for these volunteers: “It’s a way of feeling useful, in one’s own way”, confirms Nadia.

“A window on the world and the future”.

In addition to helping with homework, the mentor also helps his or her partner with their future prospects, by introducing them to a world other than the one in which they grew up. If, as in Sophie’s case, discussions with her mentor have clearly helped her in her reorientation, talking about current affairs, or even the little worries of everyday life in a relationship of trust, enables young mentees to begin to “build their ideas, their convictions, and their personality little by little… it’s a real opening onto the world […] and a step towards self-building”, testifies Camille, an educator at SOS Village d’Enfants in Carros.

This support also helps young mentees to develop their autonomy and self-confidence: “mentors help a lot with personal development issues” (Camille), an observation shared by Hilona*, 17 years old, in a vocational training course for cooks, when talking about her mentor: “she helps me with my self-confidence, because I didn’t have any self-confidence at all”. A team effort, carried out hand in hand between mentors and educational teams.

Réussite Connectée, a tool for scaling up mentoring for young people in care

“Children in care are victims of a large number of inequalities. In their own way, mentors help to combat these inequalities,” concludes Camille at the SOS Children’s Village in Carros. Convinced by the impact of mentoring for these young people, Break Poverty advocated for the creation of a law requiring the Presidents of Departmental Councils to offer a mentor to all young people in the ASE when they enter secondary school. This law was passed unanimously by the Senate last December, and by the National Assembly on February 7, 2022. Today, the Réussite Connectée program is being rolled out in other territories to more than 600 young people in the Aide Sociale à l’Enfance system.

* Young people’s first names have been changed.
Photo credits: Stéphane Remael/AMADE