In Montpellier: means to break the chains of a mental handicap

« Œuvrer pour l'accessibilité des personnes handicapées mentales à des activités culturelles ou sportives passe par l'acquisition de moyens spécifiques at adaptés. L'investissement qui est demandé permettra de "sortir" ces personnes de leur enfermement en leur donnant accès à des rencontres sportives ou ludiques qui sont loin d'être leur lot quotidien. »

André Cabrera

Because they don't have the same cultural and educational references - which are not always within reach - because they cannot communicate easily with others, mentally handicapped persons often suffer from a terrible psychic, intellectual and affective isolation. Professionals who observe them generally find that when the conditions are set up to break this isolation, they produce not only well-being, but also significantly improve their condition.

This is why the association Montpellier Culture Sport Adapté (MCSA) offers sports and cultural activities to intellectually deficient adolescents and adults. In the evening, on weekends and during school holidays, it organizes a wide variety of theme meetings in order to create venues for friendly exchanges, to fight against sedentarity, and to boost the self-esteem of these persons.

Discovering others

To round out its panoply of opportunities, MCSA wants to intensify its action in 2008, thanks to the release of sports facilities by the municipality and by the organization of theme trips and weekends. In addition to sports events which they all attend or partake in, the association wants to encourage them to discover different countries and other regional cultures. And it is also setting up training sessions for adults who wish to work with the publics in its care.

For all these projects, it has applied for support from the Veolia foundation: the purchase of an appropriate transport vehicle will provide it with the mobility in still lacks.