“El nuevo rostro de la pobreza es un joven con menores a su cargo, sin empleo y con riesgo de perder su vivienda”
"The new face of poverty is a young person with minors at position, without employment and at risk of losing their housing."
This was stated by Ángel Iriarte, Caritas delegate, who reminded the University of Navarra that 4,000 families in the Autonomous Community receive basic income.
"With the crisis, people who were in status of vulnerability have passed or are in very serious risk of belonging to the group of the excluded -among which are the "homeless", women with serious problems, recently arrived immigrants...-. If we can speak of a new face of poverty, it would be a young person, with minors at position, who has run out of employment and has lost his or her home or is on the verge of doing so". This was stated by Angel Iriarte, Episcopal delegate of Caritas Diocese of Pamplona-Tudela, on the occasion of his participation in the VII Course of update of the high school Superior of Religious Sciences (ISCR) of the University of Navarra.
As a significant fact, he recalled that in May 2010 almost 4,000 family units in the Community were receiving basic income. Likewise, from agreement with the data published by the high school National Statistics Office in 2009, he pointed out that 6.50% of the population of the Community of Foral lives below the relative poverty line, compared to 19.5% in Spain as a whole. However, he warns that this figure "may be misleading, as it is taken from reference letter to income, which is lower than that of Navarre".
Exponential increase of the application of financial aid
Ángel Iriarte pointed out that the recession has translated in Caritas into "an exponential increase in the number of requests for the Shelter Service. There is more and more demand for work, attendance on housing problems, financial aid, guidance -because it had never been in this status-...". In response, she explains that the organization has increased the financial assistance and created a crisis fund. "At first, solidarity grew. The problem is that this period is extending over time and it is difficult to maintain the initial levels of response," he pointed out.
"It is not mission statement of citizens or civil organizations - continued the Caritas delegate - to perform the role that corresponds to the Public Administrations, which must guarantee to each and every one, at least, the vital minimums. But not everything can be left to the Administrations". Thus, he bet that civil society should take the initiative in areas such as culture, sports, leisure or solidarity: "If only what is subsidized by the Administration is done, citizenship runs the risk of disappearing".
Ángel Iriarte gave a lecture at lecture under the title degree scroll "Social responsibility and staff towards the poor and marginalized" at the VII Course of update of the ISCR of the University of Navarra. The activity, which opened on Wednesday, August 25 and closed on August 27, was attended by more than 150 people from Spain, Germany, Holland and Colombia.