Cáritas has warned this Tuesday that housing "has become the epicenter of social inequality in the Canary Islands", to the point that the number of families in residential exclusion it assists has increased by 19%, with 299 of them in serious situations.
Of all the people assisted in Cáritas facilities during this semester, 25% are in an irregular administrative situation, which is why "they do not have access to aid, housing, or rights", which, according to the general secretary of the NGO in the Diocese of Canarias, Caya Suárez, prevents the existence of a "welfare state".
Suárez recalled that the cost of living "is increasingly higher" and cited as an example that in 2021 a meal cost Cáritas Diocesana de Canarias around 4.90 euros, while it currently soars to seven euros, which is making it "an uphill battle" to maintain services.
"Cáritas' contributions have decreased slightly, but they are a reflection of the social reality in which families are more vulnerable. Families that used to contribute to Cáritas are forced to make an extra effort to maintain donations. It is difficult to maintain services due to the decrease in donations and the increase in the cost of living. If private and public donations increased at the same rate as the cost of living, we could maintain an adequate range of services," she lamented.
The general secretary of Cáritas de Canarias has highlighted the increase of more than 40% in housing prices and, above all, the 54% increase in rents, which already cost an average of more than 1,000 euros per month in the province of Las Palmas: "This situation plunges us into a situation of high gravity".
Cáritas' dining halls, which will also be open on December 24th and 31st, serve around 300 people daily in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 365 days a year, a figure that will increase during the most significant Christmas periods due to families' inability to afford a Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner.
"During these Christmas holidays, we want to give the opportunity for having a dignified life not to be a matter of luck. Having a job is not a guarantee of social integration, and the inequality gap in the Canary Islands is widening," she warned.
Caya Suárez lamented that public funding calls do not arrive "in due time and form" to be submitted throughout the year, a fact that is causing projects to be maintained with their own funds from January, with subsidy income arriving at the end of the year: "An organization that does not have a cushion to absorb that blow has to close services".
Among the list of concerns of Cáritas Diocesana de Canarias is the increase in people with mental health issues, motivated by the deterioration of the situation of exclusion and poverty, as well as the increase in assistance to sexually exploited people and homeless people, which stands at 1,078 people as of September 2025, according to the entity's Social Action report.
With the arrival of Christmas and with the aim of "living with dignity", Cáritas will offer special Christmas services with menus for Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.
The head chef of Cáritas Diocesana de Canarias, Nuredin Alemán, detailed that this Wednesday a special breakfast will be served with pork leg and fresh cheese sandwiches, while the dinner will consist of a fresh seafood soup, pork cheeks in sauce with baked potatoes, and cream-filled profiteroles drizzled with chocolate.
For the night that bids farewell to the year, the menu will offer a free-range chicken soup, hake in green sauce with wrinkled potatoes, and a homemade caramel pudding.
"That day is the reward for all the year's work. You see their happy faces when they come and share. Everything is based on sharing what we have for them; we always think of the people we assist," Alemán summarized.
