Catalonia leads the ranking of waiting lists for dependency aid at the state-wide level, according to data from the State Association of Managers and Directors of Social Services. 267,442 Catalans have been recognized with the right to receive a benefit for their dependency, according to Imserso data, but more than 25% (68,074) are still waiting for the resolution of their case. The organization itself estimates that in Catalonia there are more than one million potentially dependent people and that 34.9% have requested some type of help.
In this context, having access to all reliable and updated information on aid, resources and services related to dependency is a basic need. And that is the purpose of Aliura, a portal that concentrates access to all this information, but also to the tools to emotionally manage the process by which a family member becomes dependent.
According to one of the promoters of the platform, Àngels Cobo, they have been “observing for many years how thousands of people, especially women, face the process of losing a family member's autonomy practically alone. From there Aliura was born as a portal where you can find support and information about aid and resources for each moment of the dependency process.”
As Cobo explains, “the objective is to improve accessibility to information about the Dependency Law, benefits or other resources. And to accompany in a long process that falls on the family of the dependent person, usually more so on the woman, in an invisible and little-recognized way.”
Aliura, in addition to functioning as a hub for access to information and resources, also wants to make visible the importance of care and the enormous demographic and social challenge that the country faces if it wants to guarantee a decent life for 2 and a half million older people in 2050. Cobo warns that “we must place this challenge as a priority and an emergency and promote innovation and public-private collaboration to find solutions.”
Aliura provides information about what dependence is, the first symptoms and its evolution. With friendly language, she addresses both the dependent person, the caregiver and the rest of the family members. It also details the services, aids and resources to promote the autonomy of older people who want to continue living at home but need help. These people who want to continue living at home can find resources to have in-person support or through new technologies that, in mild degrees of dependency, can be very useful. For example, smart watches that track vital signs, detect falls, have an SOS button and allow you to quickly locate a family member, or voice assistants that make calls without having to manipulate the cell phone, turn lights on or off or remember when to take the phone. medication.
On the contrary, the website offers in the 'Away from home' section information on how to manage the moment when it is no longer possible to be at home all day or to continue living and look for resources such as day centers, residences or assisted apartments.
In the 'Aid' section, Aliura details all the information on who can access aid from the Dependency Law and how to do it: how to obtain recognition of the degree of dependency, what is the average waiting time or what resources can be chosen (telecare, home care, financial benefits, etc.).
And the situation of dependency will be increasingly worrying if we look at demographic projections. According to Idescat, the Catalan statistics institute, in Catalonia there are already 1,528,323 people aged 65 or over, which represent 19.3% of the population. In the city of Barcelona alone they are already 21.3% (349,441) and there are more than 119,000 people over 80 years of age.
But according to future projections, in 2040, Catalans over 65 will already be 26.1% of the population and in 2050, 28.9% (2,490,039). Likewise, the working-age population will decrease as a result of the drop in birth rates in recent decades. In 2055, the dependency rate (population aged 65 and over per 100 people aged 15 to 64) will have reached 50%, double that of 2000.
All of this calls into question the future sustainability of the current welfare state and forces an urgent reflection on the future of care. The aging of the population will require expanding, optimizing and transforming the long-term care system.
Aliura is an initiative of Suara, a social initiative and non-profit cooperative with more than 40 years of experience in the people care sector. Its services respond to the entire life cycle: from child care services (with nurseries, shelters for minors...), services aimed at vulnerable people at risk of social exclusion, and also aimed at older people, ( home care and residential centers).
During 2022, it served more than 38,900 people throughout Catalonia, the majority in services linked to dependency care, health and the promotion of autonomy. Most of its clients are town councils and other administrations.
