The great carcass of Alain Merlevede bends under the weight of concern. His wife Valérie, off work for six weeks, no longer sleeps. “N’y arrive plus.”
This fifty-year-old couple from Toulon is at the end of its tether. Of strength, of hope, of solution. To the point, today, of publicly appealing for help after having alerted social services, the prosecution, and hired a lawyer to plead their case with the court.
Runaways, thefts, alcohol, violence…
As with many parents, their child is the source of their concern. But Naomy, 14, is not a teenager like the others.
Victim of the triple X syndrome (it corresponds to the presence in females of an additional X chromosome; most of the time it is characterized only by a size above the average), the young girl is also suffering from severe behavioral problems.
An explosive cocktail that ignited at puberty despite 24-hour surveillance and solid social and medical care.
Running away, thefts, insults, threats… Alain and Valérie, who sleep with a bunch of keys around their necks to prevent their daughter from leaving at night, have a thousand anecdotes as sordid as they are disturbing to tell.
“Once, she stole my credit card to buy 1,500 euros of “likes” on social networks”, shells his mother. “She also agreed to sleep with a boy after a simple lost bet” strangles his father.
“At a birthday party, she threatened a guest with a knife…” suddenly remembers Valérie, who “in progress and of the best” about daily insults, scarifications and other perverse provocations.
“Violent and dangerous”
“Until now, we managed to contain her crises even if she has been out of school since CM2, note Alain. But for a few months, it has become unmanageable. Violent and dangerous, for her and for others.”
At such a level that the medico-educational institutes (IME) La Majourane and Beaulieu, which shared Naomy’s accommodation on weekdays since February 2019, decided in October to reduce their reception.
The young girl therefore returned to spend the nights with her parents, and was able to stay for a few weeks in the evaluation and observation center for adolescents (CEAO) in Sainte-Musse in early 2023. A welcome breath.
But when Naomy leaves on March 6, the IME La Majourane tells the couple that they will now only welcome their daughter for half a day.
“They are overwhelmed and helpless, sorry Valerie. The Adir (Association for the Development of Appeal Institutions, which manages IMEs in Toulon) has failed in relation to the care and their contractual obligations. La Majourane had to keep her during the day, not just half a day.” Reached by telephone, its director did not wish to answer our questions.
The CEAO, a temporary solution
A particularly violent crisis on April 3 at the home of Valérie and Alain, requiring the intervention of the police and firefighters, once again turned everything upside down.
Today, Naomy is hospitalized in Sainte-Musse, back at the CEAO after a spell in paediatrics. But her parents refuse to pick her up, considering that this service “is the least worst solution for her”. Since her hospitalization, they have not gone to see her. Forced and Forced…
“We don’t want to give it up, explains Alan. On the contrary. We want to protect her from herself. If she comes back, we’ll lose her. We can’t do anything at home anymore. Even at CEOA, they told us that they had never had such an important case, requiring so much attention and resources. And she is too young to go to a center like Henri-Guérin in Pierrefeu.”
A lack of skills
The means, nerves of war, seem to be lacking to help Naomy. Skills too. “The Adir told us that if our daughter was autistic or Down’s syndrome, they would have solutions to bring us. But in the Var, nobody knows how to deal with a person suffering from both deficiencies and psychiatric disorders… “
To get out of the rut, and because Naomy won’t be able to stay to eternal life in Sainte-Musse, the Merlevedes got closer to Me Laura Plateau, who informed the children’s judge of the situation.
A provisional placement order was also issued by the Toulon prosecutor’s office. The family is also waiting for an urgent and positive response from the MDPH for 100% care of their daughter.
“This will allow us to benefit from a wider range of structures or home help. The request for critical help was normally made by the social worker of the Adir.”
A “critical aid” so that everyone gets better. More than a wish, a necessity. For Alain and Valerie (3). For Naomi.
The couple can be reached by email at valalain.merlevede@gmail.com.