When shipbuilding rhymes with social inclusion
Son and grandson of sailors, Bernard de Vericourt holds a CAP in marine carpentry. He has also been suffering from schizo-affective disorder for more than twenty years. This psychological handicap, which has been stabilised for more than 5 years, now allows him to work and have a normal social life.
Bernard acquired a 1967 EDEL 2 named Dapherod in order to build a therapeutic shipyard. For this cause which is close to his heart, he looked for an association able to assist him in the setting up of the project and to which he will be able to donate his boat once renovated.
At the end of 2019, when Bernard met a person in charge of health prevention for the Siel Bleu 49 Associative Group, his motivation and the strong potential of this type of company to help people in fragile situations led to a great collaboration. The Siel Bleu group indeed promotes projects with a therapeutic aim using non-drug tools, such as adapted physical activity.
Through the therapeutic shipyard, the aim is to create a dynamic of knowledge exchange between professionals, patients and caregivers. The manual activity and the exchanges allow people in a situation of handicap or fragility to regain self-confidence and to weave social links, thanks to a meaningful activity.
A call for funding for the Helloasso project
The work began in the summer of 2020, but to complete the project, Bernard and his partners are appealing for generosity. Siel Bleu 49 has launched participatory financing on the online platform Helloasso. The money collected will allow the purchase of equipment for the restoration of the boat (painting, sails, interior fittings...) and the technical supervision during the restoration by Bernard, corresponding to about a hundred hours of work. If the kitty exceeds its objective, it will also be able to finance boat trips for people in a fragile situation. Donations can be made at the link at the bottom of the article.
