The telephone service launched by the Arrecife City Council for processing social emergency aid for the purchase of food and hygiene products has received more than 8,000 calls in its first week of operation. In addition, the need to attend to a growing volume of aid requests has led the City Council to hire 11 new social workers -four last week and seven more this Wednesday-, thus going from five it had to 16.
The City Council launched this new Social Emergency Plan last week on Tuesday - after the state of alarm was extended - directly aimed at families without economic resources, or resident and registered neighbors who do not receive unemployment or ERTE benefits. Since then, the Arrecife City Council has delivered food aid to some 500 families who called that phone, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"Many of those requesting social emergency aid reside in other municipalities of Lanzarote", specify from the City Council, which recalls that this aid is intended for people without resources registered in the capital. As for the amount, it ranges between 135 euros and 296 euros, depending on the number of members of the family and whether there are children or not.
Technicians supervise the requests
To request this aid, those interested should call the deployed call center, with the number 828 680 558. This telephone is answered by operators, who will process the requests, with the Social Services technicians resolving their approval and conformity, once the real situation of the petitioners has been verified.
The families that are granted this aid will receive a code number on their phones that will allow them to directly withdraw food and hygiene products for the amount of the approved aid. Each family benefiting from this aid can directly withdraw, in the supermarket chain contracted for this emergency, their purchases with the products they want, including those intended for their pets. Only the acquisition of alcoholic beverages or tobacco with these purchase vouchers is not allowed, which are processed by a code that people benefiting from the aid receive on their phones.
Other social measures in Arrecife
The mayor of Arrecife, Ástrid Pérez, recalls that the first social measure launched by the City Council during the state of alarm was the home delivery, by a catering company, of basic food to the children with fee 0 who were left without the school canteen service. These minors have been receiving daily lunch at their homes since the day after the schools closed.
Arrecife also launched a program to guarantee food for the elderly living alone. In addition, the Arrecife Social Services Area, managed by María Jesús Tovar, has deployed the permanent services of a psychologist and a social worker to meet the needs of this vulnerable group.
Another of the social measures that Arrecife has launched in this time of alert is the delivery of a daily menu to the homeless, with the collaboration and support of the NGO Emerlan, which is responsible for its daily distribution.
