Between five and ten months: this is the average waiting time to obtain assistance from the Departmental Center for Disabled People in Meurthe-et-Moselle. Administrative lengths which can be explained by a lack of resources, but which lead to situations of distress.
Nathalie Miroff, from Nancy, former care assistant, is at the end of her rope. It has been six months since she requested a disabled adult allowance from the MDPH (Departmental Center for Disabled People). Her file is still being processed. Declared unfit two years ago after several work accidents, her state of health has since worsened. She suffers from partial blindness and a muscular disease which risks causing her to lose the use of her right arm.
The other sword of Damocles hanging over his head is the loss of unemployment benefits. “Quite legitimately, I was warned by France Travail that I was going to be deregistered. Everything worries me on a daily basis: my health problems and a feeling of injustice“, explains Nathalie Miroff. She says she has nothing more to lose, and is considering a hunger strike. “My life is in danger, I have enormous deficiencies, I need to eat in a balanced way, I live on 700 euros per month.“
Up to ten or twelve months of waiting
Desperate, Nathalie Miroff went to knock on the door of the MDPH for the umpteenth time, after having alerted France Bleu Sud Lorraine. She was able to be received by a member of management. In front of our microphone, the manager explains lack of resources. “The MDPH is doing everything possible to reduce delays, there are more than 50,000 requests per year in Meurthe-et-Moselle.”explains the interlocutor. Off the microphone, Nathalie was able to speak privately with the management of the MDPH. She has undertaken to study her file from next week.
Of course, this is an isolated case. But it clearly illustrates the difficulties of MDPH. Vincent Harel, president of the Handicap 54 collective, is well aware of the problem. He sits on the Rights and Autonomy Commission, which meets every 15 days to study files. “There is the anxiety of waiting, obviously. Especially since we experience difficulties in everyday life. From the point of view of defenders of the rights of people with disabilities, the delays are a lot too long. They can last up to ten or twelve months.“
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