It's mid-November, and “the coffers are empty for emergency aid”distributed by the municipal social action center (CCAS), lamented, worried, opposition elected official Cathy Girardin (Niort new energy). The last credits were allocated this Tuesday, November 12, to the mutual aid and solidarity commission on which she sits, she announced during the municipal council which took place the same day.
“It’s part of a global climate, but it’s my fear”
Nicolas Videau, vice-president of the CCAS and deputy mayor in charge of social assistance, can only agree: the annual envelope of €160,000 has been exceeded, an unprecedented situation to his knowledge. “It’s part of a global climate, but it’s inevitably my fear. If the economy is bad, it is the CCAS which is on the front line. »
The emergency aid system concerns people in very precarious circumstances, who require rapid and, in theory, punctual support. The files must meet social criteria, and disputed cases are analyzed by a commission made up of elected officials, which meets every Monday.
The latter point to an increase in demand since July and place the blame on the departmental council, which would have ” dump “ on the City, by addressing its beneficiaries. “To summarize, if before he paid €100, now he pays €50 and suggests turning to the CCAS to supplement”explains Nicolas Videau, giving an indicator: between January and October 2024, the CCAS of Niort saw 776 requests for food aid arrive from social workers of the departmental council, an increase of 39% compared to the same period, last year (556 requests).
Surprise at the Department
“I don’t understand and I’m surprised, we haven’t changed our procedures”reacts the deputy general director of the solidarity center at the Department, Sophie Carbone. She indicates that indeed, the departmental council is faced with an increase in requests, but that it does not date from the summer, and that the dedicated envelope has not decreased. “Social assistance is a competence shared between the Department and the CCAS, but the latter can only intervene in addition, when we have already intervened, this is the principle of subsidiarity”she says.
Still“it’s out of the question to say “hope, it’s closed”tries to reassure Nicolas Videau. We have to find solutions, put everything on the table. We're going to take our pilgrim's staff and look for partners, foundations, anything we can find.”affirms Nicolas Videau, who calls on other communities to show solidarity, by maintaining their systems. But the elected official is also well aware that the government's demands to make savings will darken the picture. And even if Jérôme Baloge announced that the CCAS budget would not be reduced, an increase in the envelope does not seem to be envisaged. However, demand is not likely to decrease either: in 2023, the Ring of Hope recorded a 75% increase in attendance.
