The "la Caixa" Foundation launches the second edition of the 'Knock on the door' campaign

With the aim of detecting possible situations of unwanted loneliness among the elderly, the 'Siempre Acompañados' programme has launched the second edition of the 'Knock on the door' action, which will be carried out in a total of 12 cities. Specifically, the campaign is being rolled out in eight cities (Girona, Jerez, Logroño, Tárrega, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Palma, Tortosa and Terrassa) and is being extended to four more cities (Granada, Lleida, Murcia and Pamplona).

The initiative, promoted in the territories in which the programme is deployed, was created with the aim of raising awareness of the reality of loneliness and the importance of creating links. It is also open to the general public to recruit volunteers, detect situations of loneliness and promote the work of organisations working in the area.

The 'Knock on the door' campaign will be active during the month of October in public spaces in these cities. The contact telephone number both to participate and to alert of a possible situation of loneliness is 900 223 040, from Monday to Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm.

The "Always Accompanied" programme considers the elderly as active subjects and starts from their needs, interests and abilities to help them face their situation of loneliness through the promotion of meaningful social relationships and the reinforcement of personal strengths.

The programme is carried out in 14 cities in Spain and in the last year has assisted more than 660 people. It has the involvement of 379 entities linked to the neighbourhoods where it is implemented and more than 200 volunteers participate in it.

The confinement and social isolation caused by the context of the health emergency may have aggravated situations of loneliness among the elderly. According to an online survey carried out during the confinement and aimed at people participating in the "la Caixa" Foundation's 'Older People's Programme', the prevalence of loneliness stood at 54.04%. This is an upward figure compared to the prevalence detected in the survey carried out as part of the "Always Accompanied" programme in 2018, which estimated emotional loneliness at 39.8% and social loneliness at 29.1% in this group. In addition, the latest study carried out by the organisation reveals that more than 34% of the people surveyed recognise having had negative thoughts during the pandemic and having felt sadness, anxiety and unease.

The 'Older People's Programme' of the "la Caixa" Foundation, with more than one hundred years of history, has the strategic objective of tackling the new challenges that arise in old age and, along these lines, has launched the report 'The challenge of loneliness in the elderly'. It is a two-volume publication: the first volume presents reflections to advance in the knowledge of loneliness and includes different perspectives from the academic field (health, demography, gerontology...); the second volume includes the intervention methodology evaluated and consolidated in the different municipalities in Spain where the 'Always Accompanied' programme is deployed.

In Spain as a whole, people over 65 years of age represent 19.1% of the population and this percentage is expected to increase to 24.9% in 2068.