In France, 70% of young people taken in by Child Welfare Services do not obtain any qualifications and 40% of people under 35 living on the street come from Child Welfare Services. The charity Les Ombres is seeking to remedy this problem with an academic and vocational mentorship programme. We find out more from Antoine Marvier (E23), co-founder of the charity, and its director, Florence Provendier (IMHI 88).

ESSEC Alumni: What triggered your interest in the young people under the care of the Child Welfare Services?

Antoine Marvier: During my studies, I co-founded an initial company specialised in academic guidance in an effort to restore equal opportunity to the high school leaving exam and the further education application system. Following the death of my friend and partner, I wanted to put the expertise we had acquired in the context of our activities to use for those I felt needed it most, the young people in the care of child welfare services. My brother and another friend came on board to help me steer this turnaround. Together, we reached a growth step which required the recruitment of an experienced person capable of driving our organisation and development, in addition to managing the political aspect and relations with the public authorities inherent to our action. That is how we came to hire Florence Provendier.

Florence Provendier: I had already been involved in several campaigns for children’s rights, in particular as director of the charity Un Enfant Par La Main and during my term as a parliamentary deputy. Joining Les Ombres means I can pursue my long-standing fight against social determinism and for a fairer world which leaves no-one aside, in keeping with the sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda.

EA: What are the responsibilities and actions of the Child Welfare Services?
A. Marvier: The Child Welfare Services constitute the administrative aspect of the French Juvenile Protection Service (the judicial side of youth protection). Since the decentralisation law of 1983, this responsibility lies with each department. Its fundamental task is to help children ‘in danger’ within their family, wards of the State and unaccompanied minors, through preventive and protective actions against child abuse. Around 340,000 young people are under its care, half of whom are placed in institutions, while the other half receive support at home.

EA: What happens to those young people during and after their time with the welfare services? 
F. Provendier: When you know that once you are 18, or 21 at the very most, you will receive no more help from anyone, at middle school level you start asking yourself how you are going to manage… and with good reason: in France, 70% of young people taken in by Child Welfare Services do not obtain any qualifications and 40% of people under 35 living on the street come from Child Welfare Services! There are exceptions, but they remain all too rare.

EA: What problems do these young people face when deciding on their academic path?
A. Marvier: In most cases, the assistance they receive ends on their 18th birthday, which pushes the majority of them to opt for short-term training. On top of that, these young people generally possess neither the social capital, the codes, nor the network to integrate the working world. Many do not even have access to a computer or Wi-Fi, or do not know how to answer a professional email or complete an application form.

EA: What solutions does Les Ombres offer? 
A. Marvier: Our organisation offers these young people individualised mentoring to guide them through their academic, vocational and digital integration. Under their own initiative or with the support of one or more referees, each young person can request assistance, via an application form on our website, co-built with several Child Welfare centres. We then put them in touch with a volunteer who corresponds to their profile, the type of request and the recommendations of their referee(s).

F. Provendier: It must be pointed out that our action responds to a right set out in the Taquet Law of 7 February 2022 relative the protection of children, which provides for the systematic offer of a mentor for young people under the care of Child Welfare Services. This is why our approach is to ‘go towards’ organisations, to meet both young people and care workers.

EA: What results have you obtained to date? 
A. Marvier: In 2022, we mentored 662 young people. Since the creation of our organisation, we have supported more than 800 young people, thanks to the commitment of 300 mentors, many of whom have come from major graduate schools.

EA: What are your projects and aims for Les Ombres in the months and years to come? 
F. Provendier: We want to enable every young person under welfare services to gain access to mentoring right across France. We would also like to publicise our cause among the general public and become a key player in this field. Within 10 years, we thus hope to ‘shadow’ at least half of these young people, thanks to a systemic and collaborative approach.

EA: How can the ESSEC community support your actions? 
A. Marvier: First and foremost, by publicising our cause! Speak to the people around you, so that the young people in care are no longer described as the ‘forgotten children of the Republic’.

F. Provendier: You can also help us to forge partnerships with the business world. We are looking for corporate partners to contribute to our funding, provide us with skills mentoring or offer jobs to our young people. We are also grateful for the support of Société Générale, Capgemini and Elevation Capital Partners, and we hope the list will grow in the near future. Each and every one of us can participate. The future of children in care is everyone’s responsibility!

Interview by Louis Armengaud Wurmser (E10), Content Manager at ESSEC Alumni. 

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