The Santa Cruz City Council is set to increase its budget for assisting homeless individuals in the capital to 13 million euros. This enhancement was approved by the Governing Council of the Municipal Institute of Social Care (IMAS) during a session held last Thursday, where the awarding of a new comprehensive care contract aimed at supporting this vulnerable demographic was confirmed.
This contract spans three years with the option for an additional two-year extension, resulting in a total social investment of 13,123,250 euros, financed through the applications and annual allocations of the IMAS Expense Budget. “This demonstrates the increasing commitment of this council to this segment of the population,” noted Councillor Charín González yesterday.
The financial breakdown includes allocations for social investment of 2,474,004 euros for 2025; 2,547,101 euros for 2026, and 2,622,390 euros for the subsequent year. Furthermore, the two potential extensions would add 2,699,939 euros and 2,779,814 euros, respectively. The councillor in charge of IMAS highlighted the vital updates in the new specifications, which involve the addition of services such as the winter shelter campaign, while ensuring the continuation of other services listed in the previous catalogue.
In this context, González stated that “consideration has been given to the necessity of extending the service to 9 hours a day, from Monday to Sunday, for a social services assistant during the winter campaign, which is expected to run for 92 days each year, roughly three months. This will also include an extra hour each day for a social worker in supervised flats, from Monday to Friday, alongside an additional 10 hours a week allocated for cleaning staff.”
Services
The comprehensive offerings within the service catalogue include the reception service; social, educational, and psychological support; the Day Centre (Mobile Outreach Unit, UMA); temporary accommodation services including: Reception, Minimum Requirements, Supervised Flats, and the Cold Campaign Programme; along with choices for internal and external laundry services, public shower facilities, cloakroom, storage, and a hairdressing service.
González emphasised that “the additional services deemed complimentary to those aforementioned encompass coordination, administrative duties, maintenance, fuel supply, cleaning, and surveillance and security operations.”
The physical sites where these services will be implemented are the Municipal Reception Centre (CMA), located at Calle Valle Inclán, number 15, or any other suitable location; the Centre of Minimum Demand (CME), positioned wherever is most accessible within the municipality; the supervised flats located throughout the municipal area; alongside the Cold Campaign, where its setup is deemed most suitable, and lastly, the Mobile Outreach Unit (UMA), which will operate across the entire municipal territory.
