Caring for those who care. This is the objective of the program “Network maintenance” presented this Monday at ABC Meetings at La Galería. This is a psychological care service for the assistants of the pioneering home help service in Spain and implemented by the Clece Group and the Department of Social Inclusion, Youth, Families and Equality of the Government of Andalusia .
The meeting, presented and moderated by ABC journalist Silvia Tubio, brought together the Minister of Social Inclusion, Youth, Family and Equality, Loles Lopez; the president of Cléce, Cristobal Valderas; Silvia Montoro, project coordinator; an emotional health expert and Pepi Muriel, a home care assistant.
It began in February and has proven to be a complete success, confirming the need to serve Home Care Service workers, a group made up of 13,000 helpers in the region. Anxiety, stress, anxiety, “exhausted” caregiver syndrome, Loneliness, sadness and incomprehension are commonplace in this important professional group in Andalusia.
With this personalized attention, a large team of psychologists and social workers specialized services provide psychological support to Atende home help service workers and their family members over the age of 18 to contribute to their mental and emotional balance. It’s a free and quality service, but also private and confidential.
The questions answered so far have mostly been due to anxiety issues. This service explained that the job of psychologists is to address the symptom and offer guidelines. “We are like an emergency service” was assured. In cases of anxiety, for example, relaxation and breathing instructions are given.
And this care offers different beneficiaries tools to help them channel their emotions and to promote self-care in critical situations. Until last September, they were treated. 328 requests.
These calls were motivated by family conflicts, for which they are helped by measures aimed at reassuring and restoring confidence to the person present. emotionally affected; psychological confinement due to intense, excessive and persistent worries and fears in everyday situations; personal problems, grief management and especially anxiety. Taking care of your mental health and emotional state has therefore become a priority.
Loles López welcomed this Clece project which, as she indicated, fits into the model of person-centered care defended by the council. “Caregivers are essential in this model because they are the ones who put their heart and soul into this care”he added, stressing that the home help service has more than 155,000 beneficiaries, which represents growth of 138% compared to 2018.
“It’s not just the faces and hands, but also the heart”
“I can’t make a living if I put myself in the shoes of these workers, I understand them perfectly. In rural areas, the stigma linked to recourse to a psychologist persists. The fact that they can assist you at any time of the day or night, in privacy and anonymity, is essential and this service offers this possibility. We must take care of those who take care of us, otherwise the system collapses. These workers are not only the face and hands, but also the heart of Home Help”
It is for this reason that the advisor highlighted the “firm and solid” commitment of the Commission in favor of the dependency system, which, according to her, is the most important in all of Spain and to which she allocates a total of 2,331 million euros. This figure is far from being that of the contribution of the Central Executive, which still does not provide the system with the percentage corresponding to it by law.
“Generating rights without funding creates frustration,” commented López, who once again urged the Pedro Sánchez’s government must “comply with the law” and contribute up to 50% to support the dependency system.
The president of Clece highlighted that the group has once again chosen Andalusia to implement this public-private initiative, already launched in others such as Catalonia and Galicia, very advanced in Valencia: “Social security does not provide psychological assistance service, and less than 24 hours a day. We started in Andalusia, the first ever and we hope to implement it throughout Spain. With this public-private collaboration, we want to give dignity to housekeepers so that they can provide solutions to their problems so that they can carry out their work and face their daily lives. In this way, we honor a huge group and it will become even bigger. Each home is a work center, a world, and we are talking about 150,000 homes. This is not something easy to deal with and you need to help them as much as possible.
Clece calls for state addiction pact
Finally, he claimed the need to sign a State Pact of Dependence “so that, whoever governs, there is a stable financing framework.
First person testimony was offered Pepi Muriel, housekeeper with twenty years of experience, who has already used this psychological help service. “In our work, making our users smile is the best thing. It’s worth it. I used this service. I felt good. It has not served me well and continues to serve me well. Knowing that they are listening to me is wonderful.
Of course, she acknowledged the difficult times she goes through when some of her users pass away after caring for them for years, a situation that unfortunately all home helpers experience. “We experience slowdowns and we overcome them over time. A.I remember all my users, some of them I’ve been with for 15 years I’m working,” she said, visibly excited.
The project coordinator emphasized that immediacy is essential for beneficiaries: “No need to make an appointment and call at any time day and night are vital for them,” said Silvia Montoro.
“It is a pride to be Andalusian. It’s the social touch it came from the will and the hearts of the people. We will all have to take care of someone at some point. Those of us who are here today must be aware that one day a professional like Pepi will cover our basic needs,” concluded the advisor.
