Empower, raise awareness, prevent and network. With this mission and a community approach, the Program always accompanied of the “La Caixa” Foundation» so far in 2024 provided personalized care to a total of 2,203 elderly people statewide, up 20% from the same time last year.
All this, through local social entities, through a innovative methodology and constantly evolving with the community and administrations.
He Program always accompanied was consolidated in its 10 years of experience as a pioneer project both in the approach to loneliness and in the intervention model. As shown in the latest study carried out, 68.94% of people who participated in the program perceived an improvement in their emotional state. Improvements occur after six months of intervention and continue until the end of the program.
In addition, people gain self-confidencethey learn to better manage situations of loneliness, improve their mood, increase their social network and participate more in the community.
He pioneering program Always Supported serves more than 2,200 lonely elderly people
The mission of Program always accompanied is to empower elderly people in situations of solitude by placing them at the center, as active subjects of their own aging process, and by supporting them in the search for a full life by promoting relationships of well-being and support.
Likewise, the program aims to citizen involvement and the community environment to build alliances and networks. The objective is to raise awareness among citizens and minimize situations of loneliness among the elderly.
“Loneliness cannot be seen, it is felt”: an immersive experience for all audiences With the aim of making solitude visible, “La Caixa” Foundation promoted an immersive social experience, created in collaboration with three elderly people cared for by the Program always accompaniedthrough the Red Cross of Tortosa, Sabadell and Terrassa, to bring closer the reality that people who feel unwanted loneliness live at home and share tools to be able to get out of this situation.
This process crystallized in the Soledad escape roomin L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, which was visited by hundreds of people and professionals from the third sector. Now anyone who wants can also enjoy the experience at home interactively.
Guided by the voice of actress Mercedes Sampietro, spectators will go wild the different faces of loneliness during the visit: in the room, they will experience the distortion of time represented by a clock; in the dining room, the modification of routines and habits, through a radio, a telephone, a plant and a few biscuits; in the bedroom, the darkness of the night, experienced in the bed and in the reflection of the mirror; and finally, in the secret room, where they will be able to understand through memories that they can find themselves by reconnecting with everything that makes them feel alive.
This journey into the depths of solitude is inspired by experiences of Carmen, Pedro and Silviawho, through their transformation and improvement processes, help others to better understand what this reality looks like and to look for tools to get out of it.
“I came home and the first thing I did was turn on the radio or the television… In silence, I didn’t feel at home,” says Silvia. “I spent a lot of time at home without going out. I ate what I had in the fridge or whatever,” he adds.
“Time becomes different when you don’t have an obligation to go to work or stick to a schedule or do an activity or take care of people… When you don’t have those commitments, time seems eternal , this is not the case. seem to be moving forward… and cleaning is very difficult to do,” explains Carmen.
“When the phone rang, I was very excited and didn’t want to stop talking,” Pedro says. “The journey of the Always Accompany program has taught us that to deal with a situation of loneliness, it is essential to have the involvement of the community.
Thanks to this accompaniementpeople rebuild their lives with a stronger support network, with more confidence and better moods. It is important to talk about loneliness and understand it in order to put an end to it,” underlines the deputy director general of “La Caixa” FoundationMark Simon.
Promote social relationships to have a full life, with meaning and meaning The increase in life expectancy, new forms of family coexistence and a different organization of time use pose an increasingly complex reality and new challenges are emerging, including loneliness, which affects nearly 3 million people statewide. The seniors program “La Caixa” Foundationwith more than a hundred years of history, aims to respond to these new challenges that arise with old age.
It is scientifically proven that cope with loneliness and improve social relationships brings powerful benefits: increased psychological adaptation to situations of losschronic illness or stress; improved health, emotional state and life expectancy; increase quality of life and reduce the risk of getting sick and suffering from dementia.
Likewise, the program verified that fostering social relationships facilitates a full life, with meaning and meaning.
Currently, the Program always accompanied It is implemented in 13 territories across the State by 13 entities in: Jerez, Murcia, Pamplona, Granada, Málaga, Palma, Sabadell, Terrassa, Tortosa, Girona, Tàrrega, Santa Coloma de Gramenet and Lleida.
And also in Lisbon and Porto. He program development This is possible thanks to the involvement of local social entities linked to the community, more than 200 professionals and 300 volunteers. In total, this year, it promoted more than 400 complementary community activities which reached more than 10,000 people.
In addition, on the occasion of its tenth anniversary, the program will promote a conference in November in Barcelona with several experts for Approaching loneliness from different angles; also launched the postgraduate course on Solitude, Relationships and Full Life, organized by the Chair of Palliative Care of the University of Vic, which will begin in January.
Participatory fresco to make loneliness visible
On the occasion of International Day of Older Persons (October 1), the “la Caixa” Foundation, together with the local entities that develop the program, organized an awareness-raising action. In a participatory mural, people who wish will be able to post their thoughts, emotions and ideas on loneliness to give it greater visibility.
In addition, there will be activities to celebrate the day. These awareness-raising actions promote the importance of social relationships and make loneliness visible as a challenge for our society in a double sense: it can affect everyone, regardless of age, and at the same time, each individual can provide his stone in the building. improve the lives of people around you who feel alone.
These activities are a sample of the different performances which are promoted throughout the year to raise awareness, detect single people and weave this network of support and relationships, always with the collaboration of the associative fabric and local institutions, and thus respond to the needs of society. For example, in summer, actions are organized for elderly people left alone during the holidays.
