Portal de Murcia
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The Always Accompanied program promotes the construction of social networks in different Murcian neighborhoods, to give a comprehensive and coordinated response to situations of loneliness, considering the elderly as active subjects and responsible for their own aging process, and based on their needs, interests and abilities to cope with your situation.The Mayor of Murcia, José Ballesta; the deputy director general of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, Marc Simón; the councilor for the Elderly, Disability, Development Cooperation and Housing, Paqui Pérez; and the director of the Senior Citizens Program of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, Cristina Segura, presented this morning the Always Accompanied program, aimed at combating loneliness of older people in Murcia.The agreement signed between the City Council and the ”la Caixa” Foundation will allow the development of this pioneering program, which will promote social networks in different Murcian neighborhoods, in which residents, businesses, associations, entities, the City Council and other entities may participate.
of the Administration, to give a comprehensive and coordinated response to situations of loneliness in older people, detecting the different cases and making them visible."This social support network will allow us to offer new opportunities to our elders, so that they feel accompanied and safe, and at the same time, autonomous, so that they are able to establish social ties from their independence," said Mayor José Ballesta, who He added that "Murcia is the tenth municipality in Spain where the" la Caixa "Foundation implements this pioneering program."The program, which includes the neighborhoods included in the area of ??the historic center of Murcia (made up of La Catedral, San Bartolomé, San Juan, San Lorenzo and Santa Eulalia), includes older people as active subjects and part of their needs, interests and abilities to help them cope with their loneliness by fostering meaningful social relationships and reinforcing personal strengths.“It is important to have older people and value their decision-making power.
All this with a collective accompaniment that helps them weave ties in the territory and feel better.
In the current scenario, this project acquires even more value.
That is why we are very happy to have been able to work fluidly with the Murcia City Council to roll out the Always Accompanied program ”, highlighted the deputy director general of the” la Caixa ”Foundation, Marc Simón.Presentation of the bases of the programToday's event has involved the presentation of the bases of this social program, which will be developed through a public call to which various organizations from the third sector may choose.Thus, an agreement will be signed with the selected entity, who must present their experience and knowledge of the areas where the Always Accompanied program of the ”la Caixa” Foundation will be implemented.
Priority will be given to entities that have experience in working with older people and in community work.18.87% of the elderly from Murcia live aloneThe confinement caused by the context of a health emergency has worsened loneliness in older people, due to the isolation imposed and the lack of relationships that many people have.
This experience has revealed the relevance of resources and personal strengths to face these situations.More and more people are reaching a very old age.
In Murcia, people over 65 years old represent 15.62% of the population, and 18.87% of them live alone.
In Spain as a whole, people over 65 represent 19.1% of the population and the forecast is that this percentage will increase to 24.9% in 2068.The older person at the center of the actionIt is a success that Spaniards have a longer life expectancy, but changes in family forms and models, as well as a different organization of time use, pose an increasingly complex reality and new challenges arise, among them , loneliness.Faced with this situation, and the conviction that innovative actions must be promoted, which place the elderly person at the center of the action and as an active subject of their situation and aging process, the "la Caixa" Foundation Senior Citizens program ”Has launched Always Accompanied, a program whose objective is to promote supportive relationships and well-being among older people, through an intervention that empowers people, engages the community and sensitizes citizens.Loneliness and risk of social isolationAccording to the survey Solitude and risk of social isolation in older people, carried out by the ”la Caixa” Foundation, 39.8% of people over the age of 65 have a feeling of emotional loneliness and reaches 48% in those over 80 years old.The report also reveals that people with a lower educational level are more at risk of social isolation.
People without studies have a 37% risk compared to 6.6% among people with higher education.
In addition, the loss of the social network of friends begins earlier in men (between 40 and 64 years of age) than in women (between 65 and 79 years of age).The study coordinated by Dr.
Javier Yanguas, scientific director of the "la Caixa" Foundation Senior Program, starts from the finding that respondents believe that loneliness is a major problem among older people (8.9 points out of 10) and, nevertheless, a majority of those surveyed do not know cases of loneliness, which means that loneliness is a phenomenon that remains in the private sphere.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Murcia
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