Pioneering charity platform

A meeting took place at the La Zenia Church between representatives of Caritas, Help at Home and Age Concern; all of whom are registered charitable organisations within the Orihuela Municipality and RTN was extremely privileged to have been invited to attend.

STRONGER

The meeting was chaired by the Parish Priest, Father Joaquin Carlos Carlos, who said that it was very important that all the charities work together for the benefit of the needy on the coast. He said: “This meeting has been organised so that we can all get to know one another and find out what services we all provide. We must work together for the needs of the community, because together we will be stronger and we will provide a louder voice.” Each charity was given the opportunity to explain exactly what they do for their beneficiaries.

OBLIGATION

Everyone at the meeting wholeheartedly agreed that the social services provision in the Orihuela Costa was woefully inadequate. Norah Bond, President of HAH, said: “To get a social services referral in Torrevieja it takes between four and six weeks. Here in Orihuela Costa, I know of cases which, two years later, are still waiting to be dealt with by the social services. And that is a disgrace.”

The Priest also acknowledged the serious situation with the coastal social services department. He said: “The department has an obligation to tend to the needs of the residents in Orihuela Costa but they do not seem to want to help. They have relied on Caritas and other associations to do all the work and that is no longer acceptable, hence why this new platform is so vitally important. As a platform, we can fight for those people who have legal rights to benefits and support from the social services in Orihuela Costa.”

IMPROVE

Unfortunately, the department still needs to get involved in the majority of cases and so this issue must be addressed at Town Hall level. RTN therefore asked the Councillor for the Coast, Bob Houliston, how this situation can be rectified. He told us: “The department comes under the remit of the Councillor for Social Welfare, Emilio Zaplana, and he is well aware of the issues and is working hard to improve the service.” He continued: “However, I would like to say that I wholeheartedly support this new charity platform initiative which will benefit the most vulnerable residents of the coast and I hope that the Civic Centre in Playa Flamenca will provide an adequate base for all the coast’s charities in the New Year.”

A further meeting will be arranged to deal with the logistics of organising the Platform, which will be launched in early 2012.