The Red Cross vests are part of the collective imagination of the people of Lanzarote. On many occasions, their most visible action takes place on the beach or pier, where they assist hundreds of people who save their lives after arriving in a cayuco or patera to Lanzarote. The non-profit organization celebrates 150 years since its creation in the Canary Islands this April, and in Lanzarote, more than 600 volunteers dedicate their time.
The entity, which has several branches, provides care to the population in the areas of health, social inclusion, employment, education, and also in relief. "Within each of the areas, different projects are developed," begins the island director of the Lanzarote Red Cross, Raquel Galindo, during an interview with La Voz.
The aging of the population and the increase in life expectancy lead to the need to create new systems and methods for the elderly or dependent people to be accompanied and have resources available. "Home telecare is the most in-demand service right now," she indicates. These devices are appliances, such as smartwatches or pendants, designed for people to be connected in case something happens to them or if they need to talk to someone.
To access this telecare, the interested person can go to the Red Cross headquarters in Arrecife. Once there, it is studied whether the applicant meets all the requirements. Among them, they must have a telephone connection, which no longer needs to be a landline, but can be mobile. In the case of people with fewer resources or more vulnerable, there are agreements so that through the Cabildos and City Councils, this service can be provided through the administrations.
Of the personnel that make up the Red Cross, 26 people are hired "to guarantee the structure", while 600 volunteers act as the "fundamental pillar" of the NGO. In 2023, "with the financial support of around 3,600 members, we were able to assist more than 12,200 people and provided 31,000 responses," explains Galindo.
Among other projects that the Red Cross develops on the island is the care for victims of gender violence. At this point, the organization informs women of the resources and services available to them and refers them to them. In addition, according to the island representative, as of today, the organization attends "directly" to 31 women victims of gender violence, through location devices, which put them in contact with emergency services if they need it.
The Red Cross does not have a lodging service for women survivors of gender violence or their children, but they do provide psychosocial support and refer them to "specialized centers" so that they can be cared for. In addition, they develop a project for vulnerable people, young people, and hospitalized families.
One of the handicaps that the Red Cross has encountered is that public administrations and the organization "mutually" do not know what projects and initiatives are being developed from the other side. In this way, a few days ago, Galindo held a meeting with public representatives of Lanzarote to present these projects.
"Our projects are always aimed at people in vulnerability, who do not have their basic needs covered, and what we do, well, the mandate and the mission, is to prevent, alleviate human suffering in all circumstances," says Galindo.
A center for homeless people
The lodging resource that the Red Cross provides in Lanzarote is designated for homeless people. In total, the center has a capacity for 23 places and is located in Arrecife. "Social Welfare of the Cabildo refers them to our resources or to other resources that exist on the island," explains Raquel Galindo. In this line, the space is divided into 17 places for men and six for women.
"It is not always full, luckily, they are people who usually come and go for specific needs and also have a stipulated period, they are helped for a stipulated time until the person acquires autonomy," explains the island director of the Red Cross. This center has a schedule from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 a.m., with breakfast and dinner included. It has a kitchen and bathroom, a leisure space, and an area to wash clothes. In addition, its occupants can leave their belongings there during the day.
To avoid the chronification of poverty, the Red Cross provides a social reintegration service, in a joint work with public administrations, and their health is monitored. In this sense, some of the applicants suffer from drug addiction.
"The Lanzarote Red Cross objectively does not have [resources or housing] on the island, but what is given are technical or financial aid for specific cases of rent, water supply, electricity, etcetera," says Galindo.
The profile of people who come to ask for help from the association is varied, but mostly it is women who dare to approach first, even if the request is for the whole family. "There are many cases on our island," she says about the profile of the applicants.
After the pandemic and to try to tackle the feeling of loneliness, they have made public the campaign Tenderness against loneliness, together with Milka. Through this initiative, there is a telephone service from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. where they can call. According to their data, "almost 40% of people who suffer from loneliness, unwanted loneliness are between 16 and 34 years old, although we believe that they are only elderly people or people who do not have family members, 40% of these people suffer from loneliness, unwanted".
The care of migrants
Regarding the care on the beach or port for migrants, Raquel Galindo explains that "there are very hard cases in which unfortunately we have to attend to people who are not in good condition, there are other cases that come in apparently good physical condition, although it is always dramatic to feel that that person has been at sea for many hours, what they have had to go through to get to that boat and what they have had to suffer during the journey, it is quite hard".
To conclude, she adds that the volunteers are "very strong and with a huge heart, which is what keeps them going and they are also the first ones who are there when there is an emergency".