“Toutes mes aides” or how to know what aids we are entitled to

Toutes mes aides has developed a smart simulator that enables individuals to identify all the social assistance to which they are entitled.

There are more than 10,000 social benefits and aids in France. However, non-use of social benefits and rights is estimated at 40%, compared to an average of 20-40% in other OECD countries, according to OECD. It represents 37 billion euros not spent by the French State each year and a loss of income of 110 euros per month per household on average, according to estimates by Toutes mes aides.

According to Philippe Warin, sociologist and researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, there are four reasons for non-use:

• non-information, which is identified as the main cause of non-use: People are unaware that an aid exists or is intended for them;
• non-application, as the second cause: The potential beneficiary knows about the offer but does not apply for it, for various reasons, in particular because of the administrative complexity of the procedure (request for supporting documents, restrictive acceptance conditions, mastery of the written French language and digital technology);
• non-receipt: The person makes an application, which is not successful because of the difficulty of the administrative procedures, or because of “ignorance”. The most commonly case concerns work premium and Universal Health Coverage;
• voluntary non-use.

To combat the non-use of social benefits and rights, Toutes mes aides has developed a smart simulator that helps individuals identify the benefits to which they are entitled from among more than 1200 national and local ones. The application guides the users through the administrative procedures by pre-filling in the benefit application forms and directing them to the right organisations.  

When users log in for the first time, they fill in the information needed, such as the address, age, income level, to identify the assistance for which they are eligible. As the users answer, they discover the assistance corresponding to their profile and their household in 15 categories: education, family, housing, energy transition, health, caregiver, disability, etc. Users can then build up their application directly on the application: they download the administrative forms that are automatically pre-filled, as well as all the necessary supporting documents, and send the file to the dedicated body. 

Toutes mes aides also informs its users via intelligent alerts if new aid is available and of upcoming deadlines concerning their current applications. Finally, the application protects its users’ data, which is not shared with any third party.

The project development since 2018 has been as follows: 

• 2018: construction of a prototype simulator for individuals and testing with 450 beta-testers.  
• 2019: construction of the platform on the basis of the feedback obtained during the tests and official launch on 25 February 2019. Successful turn towards B2B during 2019 to better meet user expectations and first fundraising.
• 2020: B2B model takes off with double-digit monthly growth with over 40,000 users in December.
• 2021: reaching 100 000 users and providing the financial resources to accelerate the commercial and technological development of Toutes mes aides.

Toutes mes aides was supported by 21, the French Red Cross’ social innovation accelerator, which enabled the company to continue its growth along the following three lines: 

• Referencing all aid and solidarity schemes: Identifying financial aid, social and solidarity schemes offered by local authorities, the State, associations and other organisations. Toutes mes aides includes most of the assistance and schemes offered by the city of Paris. 
• Adaptation to smartphone & tablet: The aim is to make the project more accessible on mobile devices and users’ daily lives, so that it can be accessed quickly and easily in all circumstances, such as during volunteer roams or for social assistance. 
• The development of a tool for social workers: The objective is to free up time for social workers so that they can have more time for providing support for procedures rather than for searching for aid which can be automated.

 

As part of its support from 21, Toutes mes aides reoriented its strategy. Rather than charging a commission directly to the beneficiaries of the application, it switched to a model targeting companies that offer this application to their employees, or social housing and schools (for their residents / students). Thus, the solution is free for the employees because it is the company that finances it, with a rate of 2 € per month per employee.  

Toutes mes aides currently lists more than 1,200 aids and adds more than 20 a week. Several companies or associations currently use the application, including AG2R La Mondiale, BETC, the French Red Cross and social landlords. In total, 43,000 employees have access to Toutes mes aides.

The application was deployed within the French Red Cross network to reduce the non-use of aid, and thus to increase the “reste à vivre” (remaining income after payment of debts). Lisa meets certain objectives specific to each type of institution. For example, for hospitals, facilitating access to social assistance for patients allows them to anticipate their return home in better conditions. In the case of housing for dependent elderly people, the solution enables a greater number of patients to have their accommodation costs covered.