Reunion Island: more and more young people affected by poverty

----------------------------------------------------------The annual report of Catholic Relief Services shows that "18 to 25 are most affected by poverty." At Reunion Island, if the family solidarity continues to play, lack of social support increases the situations of fragility and accelerates the phenomenon of exclusion. Thousands of young people are unemployed Reunion. Not everyone has the chance to be helped by their parents. Some end up one day to the street. " Young people from 18 to 25 years are most affected by poverty, " said Catholic Relief Services in its 2010 annual report released Tuesday. Poverty increases. The mainland, near 1, 5 million people in 2010 received assistance from the association, including 702,000 children.Reunion is no exception to this phenomenon. Germaine Bourdais, the Catholic Relief county delegate, said that 5,678 homes were supported by the association last year for financial aid and accompaniment to a total of 50 000 euros. There is no typical profile. These are both people of welfare benefits, as young single mothers or low-income earners. Increased demands for food aid for the year 2011, already 82 000 euros of aid granted. "We work on helping the person but also political challenges. We must also act to move the institutions , "said Germaine Bourdais who took office two short months ago. "What struck me here is the desire, the commitment of volunteers to be supportive of others, young people and the generosity of the meetings." Catholic Relief teams are spread throughout the island."We'll see families, they are framed, in connection with the CCAS or other associations." families where many young people know the horrors of unemployment. Another observation made ​​by Catholic Relief Services: for the first time, the proportion of people with a higher level of education is more important than who is less than the primary. This shows that " even higher level of education does not free from poverty, " said Bernard Theobald, its general secretary.Below the poverty line figures also show: if young people are Reunion more educated, the labor market can not absorb all, especially in times of crisis. In the statistics of job center, close to 1900 young people aged 18/26 years of higher education plus 2 plus 3 plus 4 and beyond ... Bernard Theobald also concerned about the increase in requests for food aid " this confirms that after paying the bills incompressible, many people have no food to eat. " In a study of inequalities in Reunion published this year, INSEE shows that there are three times as many poor in Reunion in France. Thus, nearly half of the meetings (49%, including 144,000 children) lived in 2008 still below the poverty line (911 euros / month). Work does not always protect families: 30% of those employed are below.