ALAYANS STUDIO FOR “LA CAIXA” FOUNDATION
The fight against poverty has become one of the main challenges for Spanish society in recent years. In 2023, the risk of poverty or social exclusion in Spain stood at 26.5%, 0.5% more than in 2022, according to the AROPE rate. Almost half of the Spanish population has difficulty making ends meet (with an average income of 611 euros per month) and 8.3% (3.9 million people) live in severe poverty.
In ”la Caixa” Foundation every day to carry out a social transformation and are completely committed to promoting initiatives aimed at the most vulnerable groups. So, they try to respond to the issues that most concern society: poverty and inequality, employment, health, human rights and education, according to the CIS Barometer.
From the Foundation they want serve as support to people in vulnerable situations during different life processes. For this reason, in the last year they accompanied more than 65,700 children and adolescents to break the cycle of poverty and more than 477,500 older people so that they can live a full old age; They provide psychosocial and spiritual support to more than 40,200 people who are at the end of life and offer more than 46,600 job opportunities to people at risk of social exclusion.
Principles of action
To finish fighting poverty, it is essential to have an action plan. At the ”la Caixa” Foundation they work on their own programs and on the call for social projects aimed at promoting non-profit identity initiatives. To do this, they open lines of action where needs are not met and they put each person at the center to personalize each accompaniment.
Teamwork is essential to obtain the best results. Therefore, the Foundation works in a network with other entities and public administrations and the business sector to guarantee the best care for families. Likewise, they propose conscious social intervention methodologies endorsed by experts.
Furthermore, at the ”la Caixa” Foundation they want to reach all vulnerable households and at risk of exclusion and they work in all the provinces of Spain to achieve this. Thus, they can adapt to the specific reality of each territory and adapt to the needs of each family regardless of their place of residence.
End vulnerability in childhood
Each stage of life presents different difficulties in terms of inclusion. ”la Caixa” Foundation accompanies people in all phases so that no sector of society feels abandoned. However, they know that There are groups more vulnerable than others. Specifically, more than 2.7 million children and adolescents were at risk of poverty and social exclusion in 2023 and 18.3% of the population aged 65 or over lived below the poverty line, according to the AROPE report.
To try to put an end to this problem, the foundation works on projects with different social entities to offer support and resources to children and their families. Since 2007 the entity has carried out the program CaixaProinfancia in collaboration with the public administration and more than 420 social entities.
This project gives the families educational reinforcement, personal psychotherapeutic care and family educational support, in addition to aid for children’s nutrition and hygiene, school equipment, glasses and hearing aids. In 2023, CaixaProinfancia served a total of 65,719 minors in Portugal and Spain.
Within the CaixaProinfancia framework, the Foundation carries out several initiatives to guarantee the development of minors in all areas of their lives. Thanks to their Family Spaces 0-3 program, they achieve promote parental skills and the empowerment of mothers and fathers of boys and girls from 0 to 3 years old, and their psychomotor, cognitive and social development. To do this, they offer social support, monetary help and a meeting space so that families who are in vulnerable situations can share needs.
From the ”la Caixa” Foundation they know that we all have abilities that differentiate us and the need to discover and enhance them during childhood. Through its innovative You Have Talent initiative, They contribute to enhancing the talent of girls and boys between 6 and 12 years old to increase their self-esteem and well-being and to promote their personal and professional opportunities.
In addition, they also take into account victims of gender violence and their children. The foundation works on psychosocial support programs for women and their children to who manage to restructure themselves as a result of the abuse suffered and can organize a family life in harmony with joint spaces and with support for parental skills.
Closer to labor inclusion
Lack of employment is one of the factors that directly impacts the social exclusion of families. The unemployment rate in 2023 was 12.2% in Spain and, although it was 0.8% lower than in 2022, the lack of work remains a problem. To solve this, ”la Caixa” Foundation launches the Incorpora Program. This project helps promote the employment of people at risk of inclusion and offers free digital tools to improve people’s skills.
Thus, they work in each case in a personalized way through different lines of action. They provide free advice to future entrepreneurs, help people deprived of liberty to rebuild your life through social reintegration itineraries and work and develop support plans to facilitate the occupation of people with mental health problems.
For active aging
The ”la Caixa” Foundation is committed to maximizing the possibilities of personal development for older people and contribute to active and healthy aging. Thus, through his Seniors Program, in which they collaborate with different public administrations, they make available to the elderly a network of centers where the participation of the elderly in society is encouraged and they can lead an active life.
In addition, the ”la Caixa” Foundation offers training and workshops to promote inclusion in the world. on-line. The elderly can access in-person workshops and group activities to develop their skills and learn in an environment of meeting and socialization.
Thanks to the Always Accompanied Program, They learn to empower themselves and manage loneliness. To achieve this, they have an innovative intervention methodology that integrates the community environment, and information and awareness initiatives.
Support at the end of life
Another of the most vulnerable moments is the final stage of life, in order to improve the quality of life of people in this situation, the Foundation provides health, psychosocial and spiritual care both to patients with advanced diseases and to families.
Feeling supported in those moments is essential, that is why they offer the possibility to those who wish to collaborate voluntarily to provide support to patients and families throughout the entire process. In addition, they create care transition spaces to provide useful tools and facilitate the work of family caregivers and volunteers.
Knowing how to act in these vulnerable moments is essential for families, which is why the Foundation offers informative materials, guides and digital resources with all the information necessary to face the situation.
The ”la Caixa” Foundation promotes initiatives aimed at the most vulnerable groups to respond to the issues that most concern society.
All these small actions of the ”la Caixa” Foundation make a big difference in the lives of the most vulnerable people and lead to be one step closer to social transformation.