the south of Tenerife account since yesterday with a new day and occupational care center to care for people with intellectual disability. The Orobal association presented the facilities of the Ana de la Cruz center, opened in Los Cristianos, in the municipality of Arona, coinciding with the commemoration of World Down Syndrome Day. The facility has 87 beds (37 from the day center and 50 from the personal autonomy promotion service) and has been rehabilitated with the support of the Cabildo de Tenerife, through the Social and Socio-Sanitary Care Institute (IASS), which has invested 744,640 euros.
Peter Martin (President of the Cabildo de Tenerife), Marián Franquet (Counselor of Social Action) and José Julián Mena (Mayor of Arona) presided over the opening ceremony of the new facilities, which took place under the direction of the president of the Orobal Association, Antonio de la Cruz. Along with them also attended the general director of the CajaCanarias Foundation, Alfredo Luaces; and the vice president of the Territorial Council of Fundación Once, Sandra Santana.
Pedro Martín highlighted “the importance” of the new infrastructures “to improve social integration, autonomy and the training of people with intellectual disabilities, so that they can feel like first class citizens”. Likewise, he stressed “the need to decentralize this type of resource and to continue working to offer all families on the island, regardless of their geographical location, a nearby resource of these characteristics.” For Martín, this work is “what makes one reconcile with politics and makes it worth making decisions.”
Marián Franquet, for her part, assured that the opening of a new center in the South is “fundamental to continue growing in quantity and quality of services” provided by the IASS. In this case, it does so hand in hand with Orobal, an entity that has 30 years of experience and has spent 20 years collaborating with the IASS to “provide closeness, attention and quality of life, not only to users, but also to their families,” he explained.
José Julián Mena stressed that “Arona has made accessibility a strategic element that has been recognized internationally.” “Hence the importance for us of having a center with these characteristics in a town like The Christianswhose development has been largely due to the constant search for accessibility”, he concluded.
The president of Orobal, Antonio de la Cruz, added that the opening represents “a dream that has been possible thanks to the support of the IASS, which has made possible the improvement and fitting out of the new center which is spacious, comfortable and full of natural light». “We had been waiting for him for a long time,” she stressed.
The Ana de la Cruz day center, which has island funding of 375,040 euros, has 37 places and 15 professionals who work to promote the comprehensive development of people and influence the improvement of your quality of life and that of your family. The center includes physiotherapy, cognitive stimulation and emotional support services, and has a sports area, an occupational therapy area and a computer area.
In addition, in this same center, the personal autonomy promotion service is also offered, which has 50 places, 9 professionals and 369,600 euros of island financing. This benefit includes the provision of 20 monthly hours on physical and emotional well-being, the performance of recreational and sports activities, and the provision of specialized care. The Orobal parents’ association is attached to the Look at Me to Listen to Me Network, a pioneering initiative in Spain with which the Cabildo aims to facilitate the communication of people with disabilities, the elderly and people with special needs for educational support.
In the images, several moments of the inauguration yesterday of the Ana de la Cruz center for people with intellectual disabilities in the south of Tenerife. |
