At 93 and 87 years old, they have lived in recent years a roller coaster of changes and emotions. The last move of fate has been an eviction from the house in which they lived in Santa Cruz for two years, the same time they have been in Tenerife from Venezuela, from where their 60-year-old son Edgar took them out due to the deterioration of the social situation in that country. This Thursday, a judicial commission collected the keys to the apartment where this elderly couple lived with their son. Fortunately, the social services of the City Council have accompanied them on this path, and they are already safe in an emergency resource from the hand of Provivienda, an entity with which Santa Cruz maintains an agreement. “Now they are excellent, because from being nervous about not knowing what is going to happen, they have come to know that we are going to have a home. I am very grateful for the help received, ”his son Edgar told DIARIO DE AVISOS.
And it is that this neighbor of Santa Cruz wants to highlight the social protection system to which he has had access, and that has prevented them from finally having to go to the shelter or directly to the street. “It is true that the real estate did not behave well, that it did not attend to the situation we were experiencing, but thanks to social services and Provivienda, now we are well, and that is what people have to know, that there are resources, ask for help ”.
And it is that Edgar and his parents were left without income during the pandemic, when the first lost his job. Just before the confinement was decreed, he had already requested returnee pensions for his parents, and he had managed to process the PCI. But with the arrival of the pandemic, all the procedures were stopped. “I did start to collect my help and offered to pay the debt little by little, but they didn’t want to, and they went to court, which ended in eviction.” Edgar insists on staying with the positive, which is that his parents begin to collect their pension next month, and together with his, they will be able to access a new home. “If I had made a wish, it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did,” concludes Edgar.
From the Santa Cruz City Council, the councilor responsible for Social Action, Rosario González, explained that, “we had already worked with them since the first eviction notice arrived. At that time, we prepared a report on the social vulnerability of the family and sent it to the court. She 87, 93, and the son 60, and without any income ”.
However, it was not enough. “Finally, the court, despite the report, issued the release order, which was for this Thursday. The judicial commission notified us, and we offered an alternative remedy. So now they are in a flat with a Provivienda project ”, added the councilor.
According to González, they estimate that they can spend about three months in this temporary accommodation. “They now have the possibility of receiving a return immigrant benefit, and we are working on that line, so that with that income, and any rental PEA that we can contribute, they can look for a flat.”
The councilor draws attention to this case, which is an example of the many that the City Council is facing despite the decree of moratorium on evictions that is still in force. “In this case we had a place in this emergency resource, but if not, these people would have had to go to the Municipal Reception Center, and of course, we do not believe that this profile, two elderly people, is the right one for the shelter. ”.
For this reason, the councilor points out, “we ask the Cabildo to enable emergency socio-sanitary resources, because even though the moratorium decree is in place, these continue to be produced, with a high level of execution.” “If the moratorium ends,” he continues, “we are going to have a serious problem, because we do not have so many emergency resources, and this year we have increased it. But we are not going to be able to do it alone, it is an issue that goes beyond the municipal area ”. González admits that they are “scared” by the possibility that there will be no extension of the decree. “Already in February we noticed that we were attending an average of five evictions per week, we are very concerned, about what can happen without a moratorium,” he added.
Santa Cruz has 29 families in emergency resources
The capital currently has a total of 29 families housed in emergency flats, as a result of the agreements it has with entities such as Provivienda or Nuevo Futuro. It also has other accommodation resources that, including the Municipal Reception Center, has 133 places with autonomy floors, Minimum Demand Center, pensions or the autonomy support floor for young people in situations of social vulnerability managed by the Don Foundation Bosco. González insists on the need for other administrations to collaborate with the municipalities because “we just can’t.” “Without a moratorium, we don’t know what we are going to do.”
