1er next July, Florence Gros will take up her duties as the new director of the Christian Office for the Disabled (OCH). She will succeed Philippe de Lachapelle who is retiring after twenty years at the head of the OCH. Created in 1963 by Hélène Matthieu, this Christian foundation of public utility has given itself the mission of enabling sick and disabled people, and their loved ones, not to isolate themselves, and to meet regularly to share the fight against disability.
A new mission at the OCH, between continuity and evolution
A 52-year-old former psychomotor and graphomotor therapist, she wishes to take advantage of this indefinite term mandate to continue the dynamic instilled by Philippe de Lachapelle, while introducing some changes. “At the dawn of the 60th anniversary of the foundation, we are going to begin a rereading work to better turn our gaze to the future. In my opinion, we should be more open to young people and their issues, and also make our voice heard in the debates on bioethics”, she explains.
Driven by her commitments to people with disabilities since adolescence, she would also like them to be given an even more important place within the foundation, particularly during outings and stays organized by the OCH.
A common thread: supporting the most vulnerable
In fourth grade, after watching a report on an association that supported people with disabilities, Florence Gros is seized with a certainty: her life will be put at the service of the most fragile. At the age of 18, in parallel with her studies to work in the medico-social field, she got involved in the association “À bras Ouverts”, which brings together guides aged 18 to 35 and young people with disabilities, the time a weekend or short stays.
“I have always been deeply touched and uplifted by the confidence and depth of people with disabilities, she explains. Those I have met have a will to move forward, despite suffering, which inspires me. I learned to love, in their contact. » Forced to consider a professional retraining fifteen years ago for health reasons, Florence Gros then responded to a recruitment ad from the Christian Office for the Disabled.
Listen and make the voices of people with disabilities heard
For sixteen years, she was a full-time member of the “listening and advice” team.
of the OCH. The objective of this team is to lend an attentive ear to those who are affected
near or far by disease or disability, whether motor, sensory or psychic, and
to offer them solutions to move forward.
“To be heard is to feel recognized, it is to feel that we have a place in society, in the Church or in our groups of friends. In the Listening and Advice team, I didn’t change the daily life of those who came to see me, but I helped them to live this daily life differently. »
Fight against the reduction of people to their disabled status
Significant encounters have multiplied over the years. She mentions in particular this woman she met seven years ago, the wife of a man with a disability, who said to her when calling her: “I have a stroke of softness, I come to seek a stroke of joy! »
“Now I have a lot of friends with disabilities, real friends,” she insists. She specifies that “everything is not perfect. The suffering is there, and some characters are strong, but at least nothing is hidden”. Fighting against the invisibilization and reduction of people to their disabled status is the fight led by this woman whose daily life is carried by the phrase of Pope John Paul II: “Disability is not the last word in life. Love is the last word. »