2023-12-05 19:27:21
You just have to open the door of La Belle Spark to feel that it is not a restaurant like any other. In this establishment highlighted by the TV film of the same name, carried by Bernard Campan and Mélanie Doutey, watched by 2.1 million viewers on October 5 on M6, it is not uncommon for the waiters to hug the customers, and vice versa. Created to promote the professional and social integration of young people with disabilities, it now employs 8 people – out of the 12 employees on permanent contracts – with cognitive disorders. On the eve of the end-of-year holidays, they are launching an appeal for generosity. To continue its activity and while waiting to put in place lasting solutions, this haven of humanity urgently needs 80,000 euros.
“We had difficult nights,” breathes Fabrice Goldstein, producer behind the TV film and father of Pierrot, a 21-year-old waiter, always smiling, who has just joined the office of the Tremplin extraordinary association, which supports the structure . Last month, parents were stunned to learn that the establishment could close at the end of the year. “Stability is very important for these young people,” worry the parents, determined to do everything to ensure that their children do not return home, waiting for the payment of the allowance for disabled adults.
A model that “allows a better understanding of disability”
The fault of the Beautiful Spark? Having believed that such an establishment could achieve profitability on its own. “The operating cost is very high,” notes Fabrice Goldstein. The restaurant is certainly full every lunchtime but it is only open three evenings a week. These young people cannot work exactly like the others. We need permanent staff to supervise them, a psychologist…”
For this reason, the association is currently working to find viable economic solutions. And the avenues are numerous. Patrons, investment funds and foundations plan to support the restaurant, which also aims, in the long term, to open other establishments. “The model is virtuous,” insists the vice-president of Tremplin extraordinary. Both for young people and for society, for whom it allows a better understanding of disability. »
This outpouring of solidarity lights a glimmer of hope. La Belle Sparkle must now pay off its debts, to have time to build a new economic model and optimize its operation. To support them, a prize pool was opened on the platform helloasso.com.
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