The associations Prensa Juvenil de Canarias and “Manos que nos dais” have requested help from the citizens of Lanzarote to get a place for the homeless young people of the island to sleep provisionally.
“Anything is worth it to us, even in poor condition, we take care of repairing it. The goal is that they can live there for a few weeks or months, until they can legalize their lives and, thus, get a job,” explains Paco Parrilla on Radio Lanzarote.
“There are many minors, immigrants and people from here, who live in dysfunctional families and who, when they reach the age of majority, have nowhere to go and stay on the street,” adds Parrilla.
And it is that at present, according to the records of both associations, only in Arrecife there are “25 homeless young people”, but they assure that “there may be more”. “They are wandering around, and each one has their story. They are not dogs and cats that are on the street,” they add.
“What cannot be is that the administration puts its hand in its mouth that gives training to young people, and then it turns out that since you are 18 years old you have to fend for yourself. That is not a way to integrate people, nor for youth to be the generational replacement that it has to be,” says Ana Balboa, a member of the association.
According to the associations, Lanzarote has a serious problem regarding the number of young people who leave the shelter when they reach the age of majority, “They told us that there are five 18-year-old boys who are going out on the street this week, and they do so without anything, because they have no houses or absolutely nothing to live on,” they explain.
“We do not want to set up a lifelong shelter. We want a house that in three months they can train and prepare for work. So that they can be hired, like that thrown in the street you can not”, add the associations.
In addition, the associations lash out harshly against the administrations, and assure that this shelter will be set up with the help of the people, since they receive nothing from the institutions. “You cannot boast of Lanzarote as a Biosphere Reserve and then in social matters we are a misery”, says Ana Balboa.
Anyone interested in collaborating, who has some type of suitable installation or who knows someone who may have it, can contact us through the email address prensajuvenilcanarias@gmail.com .
“We are not going to destroy the house, we are going to restore it and help these young people”, they assure from both associations.
