The "la Caixa" Foundation allocates one million euros to social inclusion housing in the context of COVID-19

This year, the "la Caixa" Foundation is allocating one million euros to the prevention and promotion of social inclusion through temporary residential care resources aimed at people at risk or in a situation of poverty and who are particularly vulnerable in the face of the consequences of the health and social crisis. This contribution will be channelled through support for 36 projects selected in the Housing for Social Inclusion 2020 call for proposals, which offer more than 600 residential places distributed in 150 temporary homes, benefiting more than 1,000 people at risk of exclusion. 

This is the first call of the Social Initiatives Programme 2020 that has been completely adapted to the current social context, adjusting the bases to include in the objectives those projects addressing the new needs arising from the COVID-19 crisis and promoting support for the most disadvantaged social groups. This adaptation has resulted in a significant increase in the number of projects presented, 37% more than in last year's call.

With this call for proposals, "la Caixa" Foundation collaborates with social entities whose objectives include the development of prevention, promotion and support programmes for social inclusion through temporary residential care resource projects aimed at contributing to the inclusion of the most vulnerable people in the community and facilitating their independent lives. 

The call is structured in two areas of action: temporary residential resources for people in the process of social inclusion and temporary residential resources for people with disabilities and/or mental disorder. 

In the first area, 28 projects have been selected which promote the empowerment and autonomy of people in a situation of social exclusion, as well as those specifically aimed at young people who have been extinguished or are unaccompanied, etc. ....

In the second area, the eight projects selected aim to offer an opportunity to a vulnerable social group, as well as to facilitate their independent life. 

Of all the projects selected, 28% directly respond to the new needs arising from the social and health crisis caused by COVID-19, and specifically six of the projects selected have as their main objective to cover the basic needs of the beneficiaries. 

In this sense, the projects have an impact on new social challenges such as the extension of places and housing for homeless people and those with higher risk profiles, the fitting out of spaces such as support housing for people who are more vulnerable to possible infection, the fitting out of housing for users with places in flats or residences of the entity that must make quarantine, adaptation of care methodologies through the use of new technologies (video calls, tablets, distance tutorials, online workshops...) and, finally, the creation of spaces and temporary stay services for rest, improvement of family coexistence and release of caregivers in the context of overload due to confinement. The "la Caixa" Foundation has not only ensured that the selection criteria meet these objectives, but has also simplified the process of processing the grants. 

This is the fourth call of the 2020 Social Initiative Project Aid Programme, which this year is also investing a total of 17.5 million euros in the care of the elderly, the disabled and the sick, the fight against social exclusion and child poverty, social and occupational integration, the promotion of interculturality and social action in the rural environment. 

As every year, the selection criteria for the projects have also taken into account the support of the Administration or the effective collaboration between social entities through the partnership and the involvement of the community where they are developed. 

The director general of the "la Caixa" Foundation, Antonio Vila, highlighted the commitment of the participating entities and of the Foundation itself in responding to the new social challenges posed by the COVID-19. "The new reality requires a greater effort to respond to the needs that have arisen in the context of an unprecedented social and health crisis, and so we have decided to strengthen support for the entities that work to provide housing for the groups with the greatest difficulties", indicated the general director of the "la Caixa" Foundation.

The 2020 Social Initiative Project Aid Programme renews once again the commitment with the entities, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDA) and Agenda 2030 of the United Nations (UN), supporting initiatives that contribute to ending poverty in all its forms around the world and guaranteeing the right to decent housing for all people, especially the most vulnerable. 

Once again this year, the "la Caixa" Foundation will give special recognition to those entities that develop, on the basis of the programme of calls for proposals, the most disruptive projects, either for implementing new models of social intervention or management, or for contributing a transformative vision of society. 

The seventh edition of the "la Caixa" Awards for Social Innovation will award 10 prizes of 15,000 euros each, which will give an additional boost to each of the winning projects. The candidatures will be evaluated on the report and the results of the projects that will be nominated for the awards.