Thanks to silver hands, the elderly are no longer alone behind their carts. This start-up, created in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales), offers supermarkets the opportunity to adopt their “shopping companions”, to give seniors a helping hand. These students accompany elderly customers who so wish, on the shelves of the supermarket, to the checkout. A big plus, of course, for loading the water packs, or catching the products at the top of the stalls. But not only.
“I had this idea while shopping in a supermarket, says Héloïse Lamotte, the founder of Mains d’argent. I realized that there were many, many white hairs, alone, in the shelves. I wanted to understand why. And I came across a report by the association Les Petits frères des Pauvres, on the social isolation of the elderly. “According to this study (read here), published in 2021, 530,000 people aged 60 and over are “in a situation of social death” in France. The number of seniors isolated from family and friend circles has more than doubled in four years, from 900,000 in 2017 to 2 million in 2021. In addition, 6.5 million seniors feel lonely, and as many do not have no one to talk to about intimate matters.
“What touched me was the loneliness of seniors”
It was primarily to break this isolation that Héloïse Lamotte created Mains d’argent. “Supermarkets are places where these people can reconnect with the rest of society,” says the entrepreneur. Seeing people, chatting with the staff, taking their time… These are very important things for them. It keeps them active. Obviously, we have all, once, been asked by an elderly person, to catch a product, in particular. But me, what touched me, it is especially the loneliness of the seniors. »
For supermarkets, subscription to the service is chargeable. But for customers, it’s free. At their leisure, at the times when the “shopping companions” are there, they can ask for them. For the moment, this innovative service of “four-handed shopping” is not really in the habit of customers. “So, we go to meet customers or their relatives, to offer them support, notes Héloïse Lamotte. But, little by little, it starts to become part of habits. It is most encouraging ! »
“Rebuilding the link”
Four supermarkets currently offer slots with the start-up Mains d’Argent: E.Leclerc in Granville (Manche) and Intermarché in Grenoble (Isère), and in Argelès-sur-Mer and Le Soler (Pyrénées-Orientales ). “It’s very, very good,” says Maël Le Moal, the owner of the E. Leclerc store in Granville. It is an intergenerational device, which makes it possible to truly break the isolation of the elderly. It allows you to reconnect with those who feel alone, it’s a real moment of exchange. »
Students are paid 12 euros per hour. Enough to make a small additional income not negligible. The most active “earn between 190 and 230 euros per month”, indicates the founder of Mains d’argent. “I feel really useful,” confides Chloé, one of the “shopping companions”. Lisa, another student who offered to accompany elderly people to do their shopping, is delighted with these “enriching exchanges”. It, she says, “opened her eyes to the needs of our seniors.”