This Monday, the Island Council of Lanzarote approved in the Governing Council the file for the social agreement of the public service of two Low-Demand Night Care Centers for homeless people on the island, a key measure within the island's strategy for assisting vulnerable people, with an investment of 4,143,474.34 euros and an initial term of five years.
The president of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, emphasized that this decision is aligned with the island model defended by the island government. "We continue to build Lanzarote as the island of care, putting people at the center of management. This agreement provides financial and legal security for the maintenance of 40 places, which will consolidate the resource in the long term and avoid the uncertainty of annual calls," he stressed.
Betancort emphasized that the Cabildo is implementing a clear roadmap in social matters. "This agreement is part of our island strategy to assist vulnerable people, which builds a solid, modern, and humane model," he noted.
For his part, the Minister of Social Welfare and Inclusion, Marci Acuña, explained that the low-demand centers will offer nighttime access, hygiene, basic food, social support, and harm reduction, with a focus on quality of life and without imposing rigid entry conditions to facilitate inclusion.
Acuña emphasized the importance of the collaborative model and pointed out that "it allows us to work with specialized entities, guarantee quality in care, and offer a stable and professional public service." "This step will allow us to entrust non-profit social entities with the management of this public resource, guaranteeing a more humane, specialized, and stable model over time," he insisted.
"This project is a fundamental piece of that island strategy of care for vulnerable people, which we are implementing with planning, resources, and a vision for the future," he concluded.
In addition to these 40 low-demand places, the Cabildo of Lanzarote already finances 17 places in the Flora Acoge entity and other places for women in vulnerable situations through Mararía, which raises the total number of places financed by the Island Institution for the social inclusion of vulnerable people to 65. With this action, the Cabildo responds to a municipal competence and resolves an urgent social need, guaranteeing a stable resource.
"For the first time, this problem is being addressed with an effective, coordinated policy and guaranteed funding. Lanzarote is taking a qualitative leap in the care of homeless people," the councilor concluded.
The call for applications will be published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Las Palmas and in the Official Journal of the European Union, as established by current regulations.