For some time now, the Caritas Diocesana of Toledo has been launching messages on different platforms about the worrying situation caused by the serious problems and, in many cases, the impossibility for families in vulnerable situations to find adequate housing and, above all, economically affordable. The entity draws attention both to the lack of housing and, on the contrary, to the exorbitant prices of rental apartments which prevent the creation of a new home and therefore a new life. In fact, until September, the “Housing program” Until September, Caritas helped 160 people in difficulty. From the Family and Life sector of Caritas Diocesana, they warn of the situation of anguish that many families are experiencing “because there is no housing to start a new life and open the way to hope “. Families in extreme vulnerability who dream of decent housing and, in many cases, a room allowing them to have a roof over their heads to build their house.
The same problem arises with the people who are in the homeless centers of Toledo and Talavera de la Reina, people who, having work, do not see a quick exit from the centers because they cannot find a decent accommodation. This week, the magazine ‘Our Father’, of the Archdiocese of Toledo, echoes this problem and, in a report, echoes this problem, specifying it with concrete cases. “Single mother with her 9-year-old son, she completed the socio-health care course at the Cáritas Diocesana de Toledo and found work in a residence but needs a home to live with her son. “She also needs help caring for her son while she works at the residence.” It is an example, but also that of “a woman who has to leave her home because she suffers psychological and physical violence from her husband and children”. “He needs a room to live in.” Or even “a couple with two daughters needs a two-month rental deposit to be able to access accommodation”.
From Diocesan Caritas of Toledo An appeal is launched to Public Administrations so that “together we can find solutions, resources, and to the population to generously offer rental housing to these families supported by Cáritas so that they can rebuild their lives and build their House”.
Housing program
Monica MorenoSecretary General of Caritas Diocesana, comments that “this is one of the big problems we face; a real drama. So, we ask ourselves, what do we do if there is no housing, what do we do if the conditions of the little that exist do not make it accessible to families, many women with children, who want start again?
It also refers to “worrying and continuous increase in rentswhich poses a problem for the most vulnerable families we support. The coordinator of the Family and Life sector and responsible for the housing program of the Caritas Diocesana of Toledo, Beatriz Cantalejoalso warns that “alongside the lack of housing, there are rental problems, because many owners do not want to rent to families with children, or the conditions to access it, with the advance of up to three month’s rent, make the contract impossible. In this sense, Beatriz Cantalejo indicates that “we ask a mother of two children, with a salary of 1,000 euros, 700 euros for a rentaland three months of bail. Cantalejo explains that in the Caritas housing program, which has been running for 10 years now, there was normally a “rotation” of families, because once they found a job, they could save up to be able to rent their accommodation, but “ At the moment this is unsustainable and impossible, and many cases end up living in inhumane or overcrowded situations.
In 2023 The Cáritas Diocesana de Toledo served 158 people through the housing program and until September 2024, there are 160 people, “a complicated year 2024 due to the lack of housing, which causes anxiety and stress for families”. Cáritas therefore calls on public administrations to find solutions and resources to offer rental housing to these families supported by Caritas “so that they can rebuild their lives and build their homes”.
