Saint-Paul-d'Espis. These closed centers where teenagers rebuild themselves
There are four closed educational centers within the southern region of the judicial protection of youth, including that of Saint-Paul d'Espis, in Tarn-et-Garonne.
William does not lead off. This 14-year-old boy is afraid of leaving the closed educational center of Saint-Paul d'Espis where he has recently been placed, in Tarn-et-Garonne. He recently took advantage of an outing to try to steal the center car. Arrested after an accident, he will be presented before the children's judge in Toulouse.
Far from everything, lost in the middle of greenery in the north of Tarn-et-Garonne, the center of Borde-Basse, managed by the Safeguarding of Childhood of Tarn-et-Garonne and under the control of the judicial protection of youth (PJJ ), has received since its opening, just five years ago, a hundred teenagers. No prisoners here, not even boarders. Only “users” supported by educators. And they are ten to live permanently in the spartan rooms of this old farmhouse renovated to a minimum. Children aged 13 to 16, risking up to seven years in prison, to whom the magistrates give a last chance, for periods ranging from six months to a year.
Criminals, very violent young people, often seasoned delinquents who, in the event of slippage, will end up behind prison bars.
“It's not normal to be here, we don't trivialize placement,” notes a manager. The arrival at the center, sometimes between two gendarmes, is not the most complicated to manage. “It lights up a bit, we measure ourselves”, confides a “user”. Leaving the closed center remains more difficult to manage for educators and young people alike. “The last fortnight, they are anxious. Here, they take bearings that they will have to rebuild once outside with an educator from the PJJ, ”explains the director of the center, Jean-Michel Authé.
A successful exit is one that happens without recurrence. Over a year, this is the case for 60 to 65% of young people. "Convincing results", according to Pascal Dignac, deputy director of the center.
im so sick right now it hurts to even type. ofc the doctors dont jnow what i have woo hoo but i need to make myself… https://t.co/LzvT8k4W4X
— tori ᵕ̈ Fri Apr 30 15:55:15 +0000 2021
Within the Childhood Protection of Tarn-et-Garonne, we insist: “Our goal is to offer a future to these kids. Their passage should only be one stage of their journey. »
The number: 500
euros > This is the price of one day per “user” of the centre. Between accommodation, food, clothing, 24/7 supervision, it takes between 500 and 600 € per day to accommodate a teenager in an educational centre. The penal establishment for minors of Lavaur costs €1,000 per day.
“Delinquency is a symptom. One is not a delinquent forever, or else it is rare. For minors it is a moment of life. » A PJJ official
They want to be a pruner or a soldier
The first is more of a specialist in stolen copper cables. The other was arrested, in a hostel, with bottles of stolen alcohol and a small stock of hashish. A third drove, once again, without a license at just 14 years old. All in addition to a locker already loaded for their age. “Many have been mistreated, followed psychologically or even psychiatrically,” explains the deputy director of the center. We are not in "Les Rougon-Macquart", all have had an existence bathed in violence but this is not an inexorable fatality. On the wooden table, from which we overlook the 16 hectares of the center, some dream of a new life. “I would be a legionnaire. My father is a soldier. When I go out, I stop the bullshit… that's for sure”, explains a not really thick “user”. A project that makes two teenagers with much broader shoulders laugh. One of them wants to be a pruner. "That's right, we're outside," he says. Another, at just 16, will be a dad in a few months. With his companion, they have already chosen the first name of their child. When he is born, he will be at the center. He assures: “Afterwards, a house, a job and quiet. “An educator of the judicial protection of youth assures him:” They have dreams of a disconcerting banality. »
Testimonial: Jean-Michel Authé, director of the closed educational center of Saint-Paul d'Espis.
"Here, we first talk about the law"
Jean-Michel Authé, director of the closed educational center of Borde-basse, in Saint-Paul d'Espis in the Tarn-et-Garonne, assures him: “To do this job, you have to be an activist. Respected in the corridors of the center, firm and rigorous, tolerating little or no breach of the rules, he is clear about the approach of a CEF. “Here, we first talk about law, order and rule. Otherwise, they plunge again, ”he assures. The educational team takes the “users” back to basics. “Without a foundation, a house cannot stand,” they say. Thus, branded clothes are removed as soon as teenagers enter the center. “We choose a store to buy functional clothing that we pay for. It is the one who pays who decides”, insists the director. “Users” are not allowed to wear a hood inside. They can play sports bare-chested, but when they walk around the center, it's fully clothed. Everywhere on the doors giving access to the rooms, small posters warn: “I knock and I wait to be told to enter. The “thank you” and “please” are required and demanded by educators, as is getting up at 8 a.m. and being properly dressed at the table. "We are doing little by little, in the lace," admits the deputy director, Pascal Dignac. All teenagers without exception know that the slightest slip will be punished.
"There are other relationships than violence"
In Borde-Basse, inactivity has no place. On the program of the days: social and professional life, classic but individualized lessons, physical activities, internships. “We offer a lot of job discoveries. We cannot define who will be a plumber or a cook. But, we try to make him feel the respect of the boss, of a schedule, the knowledge to be. So much the better if he discovers a profession that he loves, ”explain the persons in charge of Safeguarding Childhood. In the kitchen, for example, it's Youri's first day at work. With the chef of the CEF, he must prepare meals for all users and educators. Home cooking and hearty, but it's not really the cup of tea for this teenager placed after too many thefts. “Here, you have to always have clean hands, be careful all the time… And then you are locked up. Me, my thing is to be outside, in the fresh air, in the fresh air, ”explains the teenager. When he learns that, in the afternoon, he is going to go to the forest to look for cranberries, he smiles. In a wing of the huge building, it's time for VSP, social and professional life, for Djamel. The small classroom is sealed off from the inside. “They can very well get up suddenly and leave. The others do not hesitate to come. If we don't close everything, we won't get out of it, ”explains the director of the establishment, showing off a bunch of keys that ring. “We only do that all day: open, close, open, close… For safety,” he says. In another room, Tony has to renovate a room upstairs under the supervision of the boss of the workshop. Whether he knows how to saw, sand or scrape is irrelevant. “We make them see that there are other relationships with adults,” explains the deputy director of the educational center.
