I am now caring for my 87 year old mother who has a tendency to fall down. Does anyone know if there is any monetary assistance in France for the carer from the state. Is there any voluntary group out there who helps those with aged parents/family.
Yes we live in France and have done so for 9 years, however my mother only moved 4 years ago. I applied for AA about 2 years ago and was awarded the lowest amount.
You are in France Pat aren't you? Did your mother live in France or did she/does she live in the UK.
I look after my 92 year old mother and receive Attendance Allowance from the UK which helps financially.
Don't have anything useful to add I'm afraid but I just wanted to say bon courage, being a carer can be very hard in any case and it must be f harder in a country where you don't know the ropes. Power to you Melissa - and keep smiling, it's important :-)
Thanks Karen. I have now filled out forms for the Mairie so that I can get ADMR assistance with housecare, toiletry (washing mother) etc. I am still filling forms in for MDPH for a blue badge for the car - sent one lot off and received another lot back. I have completed a form for Aviva SOS Blessure coz she hit her head and they are now asking whether she had any walking problems known to the doctor beforehand - yes - so I guess they wont pay up and I can't be bothered to chase that one at the moment.
I think tax wise you can only get a rebate if you are caring for a non-relative but am not 100% sure on this - if anyone has tried and got this it would be nice to know.
I have also had to arrange for the doctor, a nurse and a physio to come to our house (5km outside of Monflanquin). I have ordered useful things on Amazon for her then had the frustration of Chronopost being the only courier who could not find our address. This being a rural area people are very reluctant to come to the house but with my mother barely able to walk, without a blue car sticker and Monflanquin on a hill I have had to put my foot down on that one.
All of this has been testing my french to the limit, added words to my vocabulary and maybe the one benefit I get will be some improvement to my french, though I doubt it!
I live in the Charente. When I needed help for my 94 year old mother-in- law last year, I was directed to the social security office in our town who made an appointment for me with a gentleman who is responsible for provisions for the elderly in the south Charente. He came to our house and talked through everything that was available with us. He explained what services are means tested and what others would cost. There is a very well constructed system out there and although it might not all be free ,depending on your circumstances, the help is certainly there.