The "la Caixa" Foundation and the Red Cross in Catalonia promote an alliance to help elderly people during confinement

The "la Caixa" Foundation and the Red Cross in Catalonia join forces to help older people who are vulnerable during confinement. In view of the social and health emergency caused by the coronavirus, the two entities are reinforcing their commitment and, within the framework of the Red Cross Responds plan, the "la Caixa" Foundation's Elderly People's Programme is allocating 250,000 euros to cover the basic needs of elderly people living in Catalonia who are experiencing economic difficulties. The Red Cross team will be responsible for distributing 2,500 lots of food, personal hygiene products and fresh food and household cleaning cards to homes.

With a common vocation to support the elderly and their carers, these two entities are also promoting telephone follow-up and psychosocial support to reduce the level of anxiety and fear. In addition, they are providing intensive telephone support to relatives of critically ill people or people who have died during the period of confinement, in order to support them during the grieving process.

In order to deal with the emotional impact of this delicate situation, and in line with the "Always Accompanied" programme, the "la Caixa" Foundation and the Red Cross will jointly create a series of recommendations and guidelines aimed at the general population to help them deal with grief through a team of people who will provide the assistance.
 

Among other aspects, they will address loneliness (what feelings it generates and how it can be dealt with), vulnerability, how to adapt to new unexpected situations, how to manage losses and the related feelings of helplessness, guilt, emptiness and abandonment, and how to accompany other people in their losses.

Under the state of emergency resulting from COVID-19, one of the groups that are most affected is that of older people, especially those who are frail in health or with associated chronic illnesses.

"Since its origins more than one hundred years ago, the "la Caixa" Foundation has focused on the welfare of the elderly. That is why, in these difficult times, when the pandemic makes them especially vulnerable, we want to reach out to them to help them overcome a crisis that is testing us all as a society," said the president of the "la Caixa" Banking Foundation, Isidro Fainé.

"The humanitarian mandate of the Red Cross, in the face of an emergency, requires us to prioritise palliative actions for those at greatest risk of vulnerability, such as older people in the current crisis caused by the coronavirus. This project with the "la Caixa" Foundation will help us to guarantee the right of access to food for the elderly", stressed the president of the Red Cross in Catalonia, Josep Quitet.

The "la Caixa" Foundation is promoting the "Always Accompanied" programme in Catalonia, in conjunction with the Red Cross, with the aim of alleviating situations of loneliness among the elderly. This programme understands that the elderly are actively involved in the process, and it starts with their needs, interests and abilities to help them establish new personal relationships and new ties in their immediate environment, with the aim of contributing to improving their day-to-day well-being.