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French postal workers are checking on elderly customers weekly for a monthly fee of €19.90. The service, called Veiller Sur Mes Parents, started in 2017 and includes delivering medicines, books, and hot meals.
The convergence of two major social changes in France resulted in a single solution. The first concerns the country’s 73,000 postal workers and the effect of digital communications. Letter delivery has been halved over the past 30 years as more people go online, so there is less work for La Poste couriers. At the same time, people are living longer and are often left home alone. It is estimated that by 2050 more than a quarter of people in France will be over 65, many of them well over 80. The solution? For a monthly fee of €19.90 ($22.50 USD), French postal workers will check elderly customers weekly on their routes and compile updates for affected relatives.
Extra special deliveries:
In 2018, some 6,000 senior citizens in rural areas were using the service, often paid for by children in their 50s who lived miles away in cities. The median age of seniors in the program has been estimated at 50 years.
The service – called Veiller Sur Mes Parents, translated as “watch over my parents” – started in 2017. The idea was triggered by a heatwave, when postal workers were asked to screen elderly people along their paths.
As postal staff were already working in the neighborhoods, their services for the elderly expanded. Postal workers deliver medicines, books from libraries, and even hot meals, often paid for by local programs.
