La Laguna implementa programa contra la soledad en personas mayores
The Municipal Housing and Services Society (Muvisa) of La Laguna has tendered the first «Service for the social integration accompaniment of older people with unwanted loneliness or at risk of experiencing it,» a permanent program through which La Laguna aims to mitigate this growing phenomenon among its older population, a subjective perception of isolation and lack of social connection that has direct consequences on mental and physical health.
Muvisa’s president, Adolfo Cordobés, explains that «this multi-year action program will involve an investment of almost 645,000 euros and will initially reach a hundred people to address unwanted loneliness comprehensively, considering both physical and mental factors, as well as the social environment and access to appropriate support. To this end, procedures will be included that provide comprehensive care to participants, both physically and emotionally and cognitively.»
The Councilor for Social Welfare of the City of La Laguna, María Cruz, highlights that «this service aims to empower and provide tools to older people to be competent in managing unwanted loneliness and thus prevent its negative consequences, such as anxiety, depression, stress, etc.»
To achieve this, Cruz adds, «individualized home intervention will be accompanied by group training interventions, which will allow users to approach the resources we offer from the municipality and promote healthy and active aging.»
Today, this open tender procedure subject to harmonized regulation and ordinary processing has been published in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) and in the State Procurement Platform. The tender budget is 644,233.72 euros, with an initial execution period of one year and extendable to another four.
The project, which is part of the «Municipal sociocultural animation and dynamization service for seniors in La Laguna,» managed by Muvisa by municipal commission, will also strengthen cooperation between Muvisa’s Social Department, the Social Welfare Area, and the Municipal Home Care Service.
Comprehensive study and pilot project
It is worth noting that, since Muvisa was entrusted with this service and as a result of constant and direct work with older people, a growing problem of unwanted loneliness cases was detected, characterized by a subjective perception of isolation and lack of social connection.
Therefore, the need to address and attend to this phenomenon was raised, for which the Municipal Society launched a pilot project for home accompaniment of people in situations of unwanted loneliness, focused on sociocultural and psychosocial dynamization.
For 6 months, until mid-August of last year, it allowed to assist 40 older people from all districts who were in situations of loneliness and social isolation, providing activities for cognitive development, physical improvement, and social reintegration.
Likewise, Muvisa commissioned the Association for Inclusion «Acompáñame» to conduct a comprehensive study on the impact of the feeling of unwanted loneliness in people over 55 years of age in La Laguna, which, together with the aforementioned pilot project, has served as the basis for the creation of this first permanent action program against unwanted loneliness in La Laguna.
The study, carried out by a multidisciplinary team and on a representative sample of 400 people, was publicly presented last September. Among the vast amount of data obtained, it is worth noting that 2 out of 3 people over 55 years of age stated that they often feel lonely, that 70% believed they did not have sufficient family and social support networks, or that 65.6% of those experiencing unwanted loneliness had mental health issues.
