Solidarity in Roya: four municipalities are committed to combating isolation with the "My Neighbor Has a Heart" initiative.

Recently, the mayors of Breil-sur-Roya, Sébastien Olharan , Fontan, Philippe Oudo t and Saorge, Brigitte Bresc , as well as Louise Tourmel , deputy mayor of La Brigue, surrounded by several other elected officials and two agents of the Maison de l'autonomie (departmental council service), signed an agreement to develop the solidarity scheme "My neighbor has a heart". Objective: to create links between volunteers and isolated or vulnerable residents.

A program to break isolation

Launched by the departmental council several years ago, the "My Neighbor Has a Heart" program aims to connect residents in need of support, whether they are elderly, isolated, or exhausted caregivers, with volunteers willing to offer a little of their time.

This system ensures that volunteers receive training in first aid and the proper posture to adopt with the people they support. Their primary mission is to listen, communicate, and foster a sense of community. They intervene at specific times, in addition to home care services, to break the loneliness and ease daily stress.

"We're not here to clean up."

Béatrice, a volunteer involved in the Fontan scheme, is keen to clarify everyone's role: "We're not there to take other people's work, or to clean. It's more about listening, asking for memories, discussing... Afterwards, we can also help on paper, but it's spontaneous. The difficulty, as a volunteer, is not to cross the line of intimacy." The scheme thus acts as a complement to existing services, such as the APA (Personalized Autonomy Allowance), and gives volunteers total freedom: "The volunteer goes as much as they want, as much as they can," explains an MDA agent.

Town halls as relays

As the system now wishes to expand and become more firmly established in the region, the department has naturally approached elected officials, who are familiar with the issues facing their communities and the specific needs of their constituents.

Sébastien Olharan, mayor of Breil-sur-Roya, explains: "We are signing this agreement with the MDA today to act as a relay for this platform in the Roya region, hoping that Tende will join us."

For his counterpart in Fontan, Philippe Oudot, the interest is obvious: "It's something that is really good for our elderly."

With this signature, the four municipalities of Roya hope to give new impetus to "My Neighbor Has a Heart" and encourage more residents to get involved, whether to help or to be helped.