Cities seek a solution to the unwanted loneliness felt by 19% of Spaniards

Consuelo Jerez, 79 years old, has stopped wearing her pajamas all day. As in the video report that accompanies this news, you know that at any moment a sound from the television will make you get up, with the help of a walker. In the small living room where you have your television installed, you will tune in to a channel that is not on any television grill and, through a video call, Cristina Romero, an expert psychologist in the elderly, will appear, with whom you will have a therapy session to combat your loneliness. The meeting between the two is possible through one of the 33 devices that the Getafe City Council has installed in the homes of the elderly, as part of a pilot project to combat unwanted loneliness. It is an example of the determination of municipal corporations to tackle a problem that affects more and more Spaniards:Since the pandemic restrictions began, the percentage of Spaniards who claim to feel alone has gone from 11.6% to 18.8%, according to a study by the Joint Research Center (JRC) of the European Commission, released in July.

The central government already has a draft for its National Strategy against the unwanted loneliness of the elderly, which it has transferred to the State Council for the elderly and the autonomous communities. But meanwhile, those who try to accompany those who are rarely accompanied are corporations like Barcelona, ​​where 40% of people over 85 years of age live alone. In 2008, the City Council's social services launched the Radars project, a program that connects volunteers with single people. Lázaro González, president of the Association Against Loneliness, calls in this video report for a national strategy to combat a problem that affects 7% of Spaniards, according to the latest data from the European Social Survey, and puts as an example of good practices United Kingdom.