The Council of Tenerifethrough the Institute of Social and Socio-Sanitary Care (IASS), has created in the current mandate a total of 259 new places to attend to mental health and thus guarantee the well-being of people, reaching more than 930 beds in this area on the island.
This initiative adds to the support that the island corporation provides to third sector entities through the Insular Ring of Social Policies, which serve nearly 1,000 people in aspects related to prevention, awareness and decentralization of services in the island territory.
The third vice president and counselor of Social Action of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Marián Franquet, explains in a note that the ultimate goal is to improve the quality of life of people with mental illnesses and promote their autonomy.
“Mental health has been a priority objective since we arrived at the Cabildo, since, unfortunately, it carries a stigma that, among all of us, we have the responsibility to overcome,” he explains.
Along these lines, he insists that they should be allowed and helped “to lead a normal life.”
Likewise, the also president of the IASS highlights the residential resources for dual pathology that have recently been launched, aimed at treating people who suffer from mental illness and, at the same time, an addiction disorder.
“We must take into account numerous realities, we cannot turn care for mental illness into a mixed bag in which we provide similar services to all users, but we must take into account the specificities of each person and their personal circumstances,” he says.
Marián Franquet also affirms that, in the case of dual pathology, it is essential to create safe environments for these people who face a more complicated challenge and who are often subject to even more pronounced situations of social exclusion.
For this reason, it details that the attention must be more personalized, so there must be enough staff to provide a quality service.
“We have 20 users and 28 professionals, which is a clear indicator of the special needs of this resource,” he says.
The Cabildo de Tenerife allocates a total of 3,132,048 euros to mental health care, which includes everything from care for dependency to awareness actions or support services.
In addition, it has a service to promote personal autonomy, from which a hundred people currently benefit.
