These places of mediation which offer families in crisis from Frontignan and elsewhere a framework to talk to each other again

Christine Simon (présidente) et Florian Prat (chef de service) de l’association.

Deux cent soixante familles ont été reçues ici en 2024 dans les locaux de l’association Les Lieux du Lien situés au 9 route de Balaruc à Frontignan. Deux cent soixante familles ont été reçues sur le site en 2024.

Amandine Battaglia works for the association Les Lieux du Lien. This state-certified mediator welcomes families who have broken down in communication or in their relationship in her office. “We mainly receive families who are separated”, she explains. They come to see us on their own initiative or because they are referred by the justice system or social workers.

Separations, divorces, conflicts

Two hundred and sixty families were received here in 2024. They mainly come from the Bassin de Thau. The issues addressed here range from separations to divorces, including conflict between parents and their teenage children or dissensions within a sibling group over the placement of an elderly parent or when there is a succession that is not going very well. It can also be young people who are dropping out of school “because there is unhappiness at home in the relationship with their parents or within a blended family”, explains the mediator.

A crisis and issues

Most often, the issue of a separation is child custody, alimony or parental authority. The association Les Lieux du Lien offers them a mediation framework in its premises based at 9 rue Balaruc in Frontignan. Users who request the service know that they will have an interlocutor who is not a justice personnel or a therapist. They know that they are facing a professional who will ensure the neutrality, impartiality and confidentiality of what is said.

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Meeting space

Separated couples find a neutral place here to discuss the organization of the separation around the children. The site also serves as a meeting space between non-hosting parents and the child who can meet upon spontaneous request or upon spontaneous request from the Family Court Judge. “The JAF is a prescriber of mediation”, specifies the president of the association Les Lieux du Lien Christine Simon. “Our mission is to allow intra-family relationships to be peaceful, for everyone to have their place and for everyone to be able to develop themselves as a child, teenager or parent” she adds.

Fathers in prison

In addition to family mediation and the Meeting Space, the association chaired by Christine Simon has also set up a Child-Parent Incarcerated Relay which also works to maintain the link between the child and the incarcerated parent. “There is a team that works on the prison”, declares the association manager. The system includes a psychologist and ten trained volunteers assigned to the Béziers prison, which only accepts men, including fathers who are seeking to maintain a connection with their child. “The child may have things to say to his father” indicates the head of department Florian Prat

A fragile financial balance

As a company, the association Les Lieux du Lien employs eight employees, including two mediators, two educators, a department head, a receptionist and a psychologist. The Family Allowance Fund (CAF) is one of the essential partners that supports 70% of all the actions of the association Les Lieux du Lien. The president Christine Simon nevertheless draws attention to the fragility of the economic model of the association Les Lieux du lien despite the support of financiers. “The Ministry of Justice is having more difficulty keeping up with the necessary increase in budgets” notes the association manager. The search for co-financing is also reaching its limits. The financial balance of our structures is therefore difficult to establish. It is called into question every year”.

The association Les Lieux du Lien provides a permanent presence once a month at the Montpellier Court. We are a service approved by by the Family Allowance Fund. This tool allows parents to have information on family mediation before going before the judge.

Multiple partnerships

Created in 2010, the association Les Lieux du Lien knows how to rely on a network of partners who to date are: the Caf 34 (Family Allowance Fund), MSA (Mutualité sociale agricole, the Ministry of Justice, the municipalities of Frontignan and Sète and the Departmental Council of Hérault.

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