“There is a whole part of my life that is put on hold“

They belong to the categories least at risk from Covid-19 and yet they are also real victims of the health crisis. Upset student paths, complicated integration into the world of work, disappearance of many odd jobs and internships, precariousness, social life prevented: young people are doing badly. To the point that the government has set up a “psy check” so that they can benefit from support. For Why Doctor, they testify to the impact of this crisis on their daily lives and their mental health.

Innocent Vermorel-Molo is 26 years old and is a third-year law/political science student at the University of Lyon 3. He is one of the founders of Generation Covida collective created after the suicide of a student.

Why Doctor: How are you feeling?

Innocent Vermorel-Molo: It’s complicated. From an academic point of view, all digital, we are not the country best suited for that. Following studies through a screen is not possible. To distill knowledge, you need contact to be able to interact and when you are 150 behind a screen taking a course, that is not possible.

From a professional point of view, it is not. For several years I have been working. My dad died in 2018 and it turns out that work has become essential for me but currently it is no longer possible. I was able to work until the end of 2020 but the company closed. She went bankrupt. I was a telephone interviewer in the evenings. As a result, I find myself with nothing. I send lots of CVs and applications but without success. I live on my savings but they are not unlimited. I’m getting to a point where I no longer have any resources since since the end of November I have no more money coming in. My savings, which were already inexpensive, melted away.

Do you feel like you’re missing out on student life?

I always try to see the positive side but it becomes more and more difficult. I lived a good part of my student life before the Covid since I studied financial strategy before reorienting myself in law. But the last years are supposed to solidify the individual that I should be and we are kicking in this building. It’s very complicated. I have the impression that there is a whole part of my life that is put on hold. I feel like I can sleep and wake up in 1 year without missing anything. A lot of my classmates are like that too, at the best of times. There are many who are brooding. When they don’t pick up, they have suicidal, anarchistic thoughts.

And you, have you had such thoughts?

I rather have thoughts of resignation. I tell myself that I will stop my studies, that it is useless. If it’s to earn the minimum wage and do jobs that I don’t like, I might as well start now.

Do you feel that you are taken into account by the public authorities?

No. We are not listened to. I would even say that we are not even considered a professional component. For many, our decision-makers consider that we are dependent on our parents. Personally, I haven’t been for several years. In addition, we are reproached for complaining. We end up saying to ourselves that it is useless to discuss. To get out of it, we try to do things on our own scale.

You are one of the founders of Génération Covid, what is the purpose of this collective?

Sunday January 10, we received an email from the president of the university saying that a comrade tried to commit suicide. I said to myself that something had to be done. I created a group, 5 people followed me. Today we are 17 to manage this group which brings together more than 2,000 people. The aim is to be a rallying point for students and a place where they can express themselves. Even though the students have their family, on this group they can talk with people who are going through the same thing as them, are the same age and share the same emotional situation. It is also a place to centralize places of psychological and financial assistance. We know that 1 out of 2 students needs to work to finance their studies so we redirect them to, for example, the site of our faculty which has set up an aid of 500 euros or even aid from the Crous. There are also food aids.

How did you personally experience this announcement?

Psychologically, it was very complicated. I took it head on and I don’t feel like much noise has been made about this story. Trades have come together to make themselves heard, but we, the students, are not heard much. Another moment when I thought it would be better for me to stop my studies and fight for us young people was when a student at the Sorbonne committed suicide. Before, there were attempts and now lives are being lost. I wondered if I had strong shoulders. Since this week, I can no longer read the testimonials of the students sent to us on Generation Covid. I redirect them directly. I found myself crying when I learned of this suicide at La Sorbonne. We are told that we should not generalize this case, we will find all the reasons to say that we should not complain and that even if it is tragic, we should not take it as such.

Have you been to see a psychologist?

No. For the moment I consider that I hold. When I think back to the testimonials I have read, I realize that I am better than others. A friend called me recently telling me that he doesn’t leave his house anymore, that he has suicidal thoughts. Already that the psychologists are not numerous, I consider that others are a priority. Even if I wanted to, there is at least a 2 month wait. We have one shrink for 40,000 students. I try to discuss with my mother, friends not to confine me. The whole month of December I went running every day. I ran 410km in all. Before, I used to go to the gym, it was a bit of a stress reliever for me, but I can’t anymore. I also tell myself that if I don’t force myself to discuss, I’m going to switch. It’s kind of my breadcrumb trail.

What are you expecting as a student?

I think of my comrades in psychological difficulty. We need a real national plan to save the youth. It’s not by adding a second psychologist at the university that this will change. It is not by sending an email that we will get better. I’m a little resigned. Contrary to what the government says, many of us do not have parents behind to support us financially. It’s not easy to ask for help either. Students who apply for aid feel like they are laying themselves bare. They have to take out the expenses of the last 3 months and are yelled at for their expenses as if they had to anticipate this situation. For food aid, the associations do a lot, but their means are not unlimited. There are also many students who don’t dare. For young people, there is no temporary help. When I hear the President, the ministers, I no longer expect anything. They succeeded in definitively disgusting us from the decision-makers of democratic and political life. I am disillusioned. I will rather try to find solutions with friends, comrades. I will tell politicians to stay away from our initiatives, to continue ignoring people, it will be better that way.