ARPEJ (Accompagner vers la Réussite les Parents Et les Jeunes) are associations that aim to support young people in difficulty and their families, through support for schooling and professional integration, but also through educational, cultural or social activities. As a member of the Loyola Formation network, ARPEJ celebrated its tenth anniversary in February.

ARPEJ's adventure was born in response to a call from the Society of Jesus, launched during a meeting of the social apostolate in Saint-Chamond in 2010. In February 2011, ARPEJ opened its first "street shop" in Paris to "Accompany Parents and Young People towards Success". It then opened in Saint-Denis, followed by Versailles, Toulouse, Reims, Marseille and, soon, Bordeaux.

The project

To put Ignatian pedagogy at the service of young people in difficulty. Taking the young person where he is, signing a contract with him and his family, considering him with benevolence, making him an actor, rereading with him the end of the road... So many ingredients which, put together, define a way of doing things, both firm and gentle, to help the young person grow.

The recipe

A shop on the street in the heart of the working-class neighbourhoods to be easily spotted by the families of the neighbourhood and to encourage young people to push the door.

A contract for twenty hours of accompaniment twice a week, between ARPEJ/family/youth, with a really modest financial contribution.

Volunteers from all walks of life: retired people, young professionals, students, young people from Jesuit establishments... ARPEJ is a place of social mixing where those who never meet meet each other.

A very committed team of facilitators who guarantee the proper follow-up of the young people, the support and training of the facilitators, the permanent search for new actions: parents' cafés, French as a Foreign Language (FLE), theatre workshops, reading workshops, self-knowledge, film club, etc.

A close link with the Society of Jesus, either through the proximity of a school or a Jesuit community.

The support of a network: the ARPEJs are part of the Loyola Formation network which includes eighteen establishments in France. In addition to the ARPEJs, Loyola Formation also brings together production schools and training centres.

Ms France NIJDAM (ARPEJ Coordinator)