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Collective for solo mothers in Montreuil: "Now, I no longer feel isolated"

2021-04-26T21:16:15.256Z


A year ago, the Collective of isolated mothers was born, a feminist network of mutual aid and activism. Some of these women engaged t


A little over a year ago, the Collective of Isolated Mothers, a feminist network of mutual aid and activism, was born in Montreuil.

A nucleus of women, mothers, eager to break the isolation from which they suffer and determined to assert their situation to the public authorities.

Over the days, weeks, months, this network has grown, extended to Saint-Denis and Paris, expanded with specific situations, expertise, good plans.

A letter has just been sent to the mayor (PCF) Patrice Bessac and to elected officials, noting that the alerts of the Collective, "although listened to with kindness, have still not been resolved".

At the origin of this group, the combative Sarah, 34, who threatened the municipality with a hunger strike when she realized that the method of calculating the cost of the canteen for her daughter was based on the same document as for an unmarried couple, namely the reference tax income.

"I want to pay a bill that matches my socio-economic situation," she still annoys.

And if I launched this call on social networks, it is to show that there will be many who will no longer let it go.

»What the Collective, which has about fifty members, asks?

Simply “that the path of these women, who are the paths of combatants, be taken into consideration,” sums up Sarah.

"A matter of life and death"

Among the first to join the network is Karima *, 36, mother of a 13-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy.

“I recognized myself in what Sarah described, in her anxiety, in the problems she encountered, in particular because we do not take into account the criterion of single parenthood.

"

Montreuil.

The Collective of single mothers brings together single mothers who have difficulty accessing housing or adapted childcare.

Elsa Marnette

Fleeing domestic violence, the young woman started looking for a new home as a matter of urgency, in 2014. “My request for housing was a matter of life and death,” she said soberly.

And the doors took a long - "too" - long time to open.

She now testifies to say that "there is a life afterwards and that we can get out of it".

“Within the Collective, and even outside, I don't hesitate to help.

Talking can appease, it can do good, ”said Karima, who was able to count on members of the network to support her in her efforts when her violent ex-companion resurfaced.

“Everyone is available for everyone,” she sums up.

"Always resourceful"

Returning to Seine-Saint-Denis with her 2-year-old son who was unemployed, after years spent abroad, Elsy, 43, also had to rebuild.

“I no longer had a network.

With the Collective, I met some great women, I no longer feel isolated at all in Montreuil, ”she enthuses.

The 40-year-old quickly saw two levels of action in this group: “We are a network of solidarity, of presence, of exchanges, of conviviality. But we also want to do something politically: I encountered difficulties in accessing housing and childcare. I said to myself: it is not possible that the criterion of a single mother is not taken into account. For childcare, for example, priority is given when both parents are working. At the time, I was unemployed so not a priority. I was even discouraged from making a file. I had to use a childminder, which obviously costs more. "

To "survive" the periods of confinement, Karima like Elsy appeal to their parents, Montreuillois for the first, provincial for the second.

“It's always smart, I run all the time,” says Karima, when Elsy got into the habit, when school suddenly closes, of babysitting her son during the day and working at night.

Some members of the Collective also offer emergency help, whether it is for childcare, a piece of furniture to pick up or a little DIY.

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According to the deputy delegate for children and education Dominique Attia, Montreuil has 17% of single-parent families.

If the elected officials did not respond to the recent letter, Dominique Attia believes that "what the Collective poses is fair and legitimate for single-parent families".

A new municipal family commission

The elected, however, defends the billing mode of early childhood benefits, saying that it is "as close as possible, as fair as household income".

She also specifies that the establishment of free canteen for the most modest households will soon be a reality and explains that a new "family committee" can study "particularly difficult" situations and decide on an "additional allowance. or a free discount ”if needed.

Measures that do not satisfy Sarah.

“Lone mothers are not women on sale!” She retorts.

This commission means that it is still up to us to knock on a door.

"

Among the mothers of the network, Margot *, 43, may soon find herself homeless.

"The Collective, it allows to have a safety valve when I have dark thoughts", she assumes.

"We are mentally overloaded", sums up Sarah, before going to babysit another mother from the Collective while she leaves for an appointment with the dentist.

* First names have been changed

Source: leparis

All news articles on 2021-04-26

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