One in three people who call Red Cross in Tenerife to ask for attention she admits to feeling lonely. This was highlighted yesterday by Ailbhe Carracedo, responsible for the teleassistance service of the solidarity organization, in statements to Cadena SER in Tenerife. Consulted by this newspaper, Carracedo asked more public efforts to tackle social problems like this, which “not only affect older people, although they are the majority, but even young people”. «They are people who do not want to be alone but who are forced into this situation by a series of circumstances. They do not have anyone they trust to ask questions or simply share experiences. They call us to ask for help,” explained the person in charge of teleassistance for the Red Cross on the island.
Precisely to lend a hand to people who increasingly feel alone, the international organization has just launched a new service: the Red Cross accompanies you. It provides personalized and confidential attention to people who suffer from situations of social isolation and unwanted loneliness, through its different contact channels such as the free telephone number 900 444 111, the chat on the service’s website or the social networks on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. This service is attended by volunteers specialized in listening, informing and accompanying the people they contact to reduce their feeling of loneliness and promote their personal and social activation, acquire knowledge or arouse interests that facilitate the creation of new social connections and, ultimately, contribute to improving their quality of life.
Ailbhe Carracedo acknowledges that in these situations, the Red Cross is finding a lot of support in the neighbors of those affected: “People who live in the same area as those who feel alone offer to help. We are very grateful for this solidarity, which we are finding throughout the Island.” The Red Cross telecare coordinator points out that some families “lack the capacity” to deal with this problem and that it is at this point that the support of neighbors is essential, “without whom they would not be able to respond to certain cases.” And it is that, due to Carracedo’s experience, many of the people who feel alone have a hard time admitting it. «They feel ashamed to say that they have no one to help them and that is why many find it difficult to admit it at the outset. Then, when you gain a little confidence, they already recognize it, but there are those who don’t even open up to ask for help, “says the Red Cross professional.
In recent years there have been programs to address this emptiness that can have serious physical and psychological consequences for those who suffer from it. They are plans led by public administrations and non-governmental organizations such as the Social Welfare area of the City Council of La Laguna and the Canarian Association of International Solidarity Cooperation (SI Canarias), which have launched the Community Dynamization program for the Elderly. It is an initiative that offers individualized and home activities for vulnerable elderly people, those in a situation of unwanted loneliness, dependency and risk of social exclusion.
The problem is that loneliness – and so many other pathologies – affects so many islanders that they are drops of help in the middle of an ocean of difficulties. For example, the La Laguna program is aimed at 40 elderly people, when in the entire municipality there are 40,000 residents over 60 years of age. In Spain, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), close to 5 million people live alone, of which more than 2.1 million are over 65 years of age. The consequences of the unprecedented health, social and economic crisis generated by the Covid-19 pandemic are still very present for many vulnerable people and one of the most serious is the increase in situations of social isolation and unwanted loneliness.
“Unwanted loneliness is a painful feeling, sustained over time, that is caused by a lack of relationship with other people and a disengagement with the environment. We are talking about loneliness that hurts, ”said Toni Bruel, general coordinator of the Spanish Red Cross, on Thursday at the presentation of the plan Accompanying you. As he specified, “people feel that they cannot share their experiences with anyone or have no one to turn to when they need it, so, to combat this loneliness that hurts and help people reconnect with their environment, we have launched Red Cross accompanies you.
A campaign to empower women over 65
The Cabildo de Tenerife has launched a new campaign to empower women over 65 years of age. Under the motto For everything lived. For what remains to be lived, this initiative aims to make older women visible and make society aware of their worth, the Corporation points out in a statement. This campaign is not an isolated action, but is part of the Conecta Mayores project, a comprehensive strategy in which all areas of the Cabildo are involved with a clear objective: to improve the quality of life and well-being of older people throughout the community. Island. Previously, the Cabildo commissioned a study by the University of La Laguna on the situation of women over 65 who suffer gender-based violence on the Island in order to develop a structured, orderly and effective strategy. This diagnosis concluded that out of every ten women treated for sexist violence at the Insular Institute of Social and Socio-Sanitary Care of Tenerife (IASS) have lived more than 50 years with their aggressor in an environment of violence. The CEO of Equality and Prevention of Gender Violence, Priscila de León, assures that since the beginning of the mandate, “this Cabildo has made it a priority to promote a new way of working, based on people, their needs and rights , and with this campaign that we present today we want to reach out to these and other older women and remind them that they are an active part of society». For her part, the Equality Coordinator of the Insular Institute of Social and Socio-Sanitary Care (IASS), María José Pestana, contributed that the messages of this campaign will revolve around health, empowerment, sexuality, participation, the use of ICTs and the prevention of gender violence.
