The Social Action area of the Council of Tenerife It is endowed in 2022 with 255 million euros. The amount represents an increase of 24% in the accumulated of the almost three years of mandate of the current government of PSOE and Ciudadanos. The island president Peter Martin, assesses: “During this time we have served one hundred thousand Tenerife residents.” The Minister, Marián Franquet, announces the creation of 551 new social and health places, distributed throughout the Island. This figure represents an increase of 8 percent compared to the 2021 offer.
The 255,055,166 euros are equivalent to a third of the institution’s global budget. Along with Martín and Franquet, the CEOs of Citizen Participation and Diversity, Nauzet Gugliotta, as well as of Equality and Prevention of Gender Violence, Priscila de León, presented the budget.
Pedro Martín raises two keys in social policies: «Intense work and financing». He defends the effort in the area from the beginning of the mandate “for ideological and principled reasons.” He describes it as a “backbone” in the action of the island government. Hence the budget increase at a time of declining income. And also that these 100,000 people have been attended to in multiple areas: elderly people with disabilities, minors, women, equality, citizen participation, etc.
Four axes.
The expected economic breakdown is as follows: 231 million to Acción Social; 2.2 to Citizen Participation and Diversity; 10.1 for Sinpromi, and 11 aimed at equality policies. With four lines of action: strengthen care and support for the most vulnerable people and groups; promote citizen participation, as well as support for the third sector; promote equality and the fight against gender violence, and, finally, strengthen the care network for the elderly, disabled and dependent people.
The objective is a change of model in care for dependency. Among other things, with smaller centers, promote family respite, create coexistence units, special attention to dual pathologies or homelessness or the fostering of unaccompanied immigrant minors, for which the Cabildo has 140 places. Franquet values the recently inaugurated service for girls as “a pride” with one goal, family reunification that is beginning to bear fruit. In short, “quantity, but also quality”, in the words of Franquet. Without forgetting an internal look, that of the Innovation and Digital Transformation Program of the Social and Socio-Sanitary Institute (IASS), which has 1,834,500 euros.
Infrastructures.
The Cabildo allocates this year specifically 108,689,130 euros to the social and health field. The counselor of the social area points out that «in these three years we have created 1,509 new places, 28% more. For 2022 the forecast is 551 new ones, an 8% increase compared to 2021. That is 15,063,989 euros. Franquet lists the six main actions “those that are most advanced”, three in the North and as many in the South. Of the five million of the social center of Barranco Hondo (Candelaria), with 62 places, to the 571,714 destined to condition the one of Santa Úrsula (70). In between, the 2.3 million for the center for the elderly in Arico (96), the Guia de Isora Residence (1.5 million, 95 beds), the completion of the La Victoria center (one million) and the expansion of the of La Matanza (1.2 million, 90).
On the social and health infrastructure plan, Franquet defends “building resources more than buildings” to respond to needs and improve planning. He laments that the current model “has become obsolete.” He considers the specialized home service and telecare places to be more appropriate, now more than 750 when there were none. Franquet values the management of Sinpromi, which receives 10,157,511 euros to promote the full integration of people with disabilities. In this regard, he highlights the program to train them in access to public employment The insular ring of social policies has doubled its budget to reach 4,019,000 euros. It already benefits 37 entities and 31,000 people.
Other areas.
Priscila de León has lamented that Tenerife does not have a prevention plan against sexist violence and announces the first phase for this year, that of early ages. The resource for victims of trafficking, prostitution or social exploitation is maintained and a new residential inclusion project is promoted for victims of sexist violence. The Tenerife Violeta Program stands out with 82 entities and 90 projects.
For his part, Nauzet Gugliotta, has asserted that just over a million euros are allocated to city councils and social groups for citizen participation, the insular office of the area and a Participatory Platform. There will be 400,000 euros for the LGTBI+ collective, the gypsy people and interculturality. Leisure and free time activities aimed at the elderly and a social tourism program for them are also promoted. Lastly, the Tenerife Isla Solidaria programme, to which 564 entities with 4,000 volunteers belong, increased its budget by 122%.
