The Lille number of the Nightline association.

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M.Libert / 20 Minutes

  • Among the alarming indicators is the mental health of students.

  • In addition to the usual problems of isolation or stress, there are those linked to the coronavirus health crisis.

  • Nightline offers a nightly psychological support service by telephone to students in the Lille area.

Many are those who, once in the workforce, regret, tearfully, their student years.

Youth, carelessness, big parties, friends and classes too, with more or less assiduity.

The galleys, if we have fun with hindsight, when we are in it, that's another story.

And it must be said that they had their share of struggles this year, the students, with the coronavirus crisis.

As much as the rest of the population, of course, but that is no reason not to address their distress.

This is the job of Nightline, an association that offers psychological support by telephone to young people on the verge of breaking up.

The issue of mental health among students, and more generally among young people, has not only arisen since the start of the coronavirus epidemic.

It is even one of the priority areas of the government's health strategy.

The i-Share study, which has been examining the mental health of students since 2013, recalls that suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people.

Of course, the health crisis and the successive confinements did not help matters.

"Dark thoughts arise at night"

According to the Confins study, which analyzes the impact of the coronavirus epidemic on young people, 28% of students say they are “sad, depressed or desperate more than half the time or even every day.

»Loneliness, boredom, difficulty in taking distance courses… Poverty too.

The Secours populaire du Nord explained to

20 Minutes

that the number of students receiving food aid had quadrupled on the Cité Scientifique university campus in Villeneuve d'Ascq.

It is in this context, but not only for this reason, that Nightline launched in Lille a week ago.

This is an association created by students which offers students a listening service and psychological support at night, between 9 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.

"Nocturnal, because you have to find availability for those listening and that, most often, loneliness and dark thoughts occur at night," says Simon Lottier, president of Nightline Lille.

Isolation, stress and confinement

In one week, the ten or so volunteers already engaged received an average of between 10 and 15 daily calls.

“There are a lot of different topics that are brought up by callers like stress, isolation.

Containment too, even if that's not what comes up most often, ”he continues.

However, whatever the subject, the distressed student will find a listening ear.

“There is no call more important than another and we are not here to give advice, to judge or to analyze.

This is truly active listening and the volunteers all receive training for this, ”explains Simon Lottier.

The association has set itself the objective of recruiting between 20 and 30 volunteers by the second half of 2021. All goodwill is also welcome, even if there are some conditions.

Without necessarily living in Lille, you must nevertheless not be too far geographically to be able to get to the local Lille.

You must also be a student at an advanced stage of your course.

To apply or simply to speak to a volunteer, all there is to know is on the association's Facebook page.

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  • Health

  • Coronavirus

  • Student

  • Confinement

  • Lille