In Spain, in 2023, one in four people – 26.5% – was at risk of poverty or social exclusion, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. A percentage that had increased compared to the previous year – 26% in 2022. Furthermore, according to data from article Ddynamics of multidimensional poverty in Spain and other European countriesfrom the Social Observatory of the “La Caixa” Foundation, the incidence of multidisciplinary poverty in Spain amounts to 15% and those who suffer from it are much more likely to suffer other deprivations than to escape from one that already exists.
Multidisciplinary poverty is an index presented in 2010 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in collaboration with OPHI—Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. To calculate it, ten parameters are taken into account, grouped into three basic aspects: education, health care and quality of life or social well-being, the latter being the broadest by taking into account issues such as access to electricity, drinking water or goods such as telephone or television.
Considering this way of understanding poverty and within the current context, it is essential to have a comprehensive approach that seeks to promote transversal initiatives aimed at the most vulnerable groups. This has been, since its origins, one of the main objectives of the “La Caixa” Foundation, whose programs accompany people in their different life processes, from childhood to old age, including training and job search. Without also forgetting that in this way, it responds to some of the issues that, according to the latest barometers of the Center for Sociological Research, concern citizens the most, such as poverty and inequality, employment, health, human rights. and education.
Programs for all stages of life
The “La Caixa” Foundation works to offer alternatives to children and adolescents who live in disadvantaged environments, helping them to promote their social integration and that of their families. Since 2007, the CaixaProinfancia Program has worked together with the public administration, educational and health centers and more than 420 social entities, through educational intervention and with a comprehensive social action model, to break the cycle of inequalities. In this way, more than 65,000 children and adolescents in 2023 have had access to educational reinforcements, personal and family psychotherapeutic care, family educational support and leisure and free time activities. In addition, they also have direct aid for child nutrition and hygiene, glasses and hearing aids, as well as school equipment.
In the next stage, that of job insertion, the “La Caixa” Foundation has the ‘Incorpora’ Program that helps people with disabilities and at risk of exclusion to have access to the world of work either by adjusting their professional skills to the job offers from companies or advising on self-employment. They also offer personalized itineraries for people deprived of liberty to reintegrate into society and facilitate the employment of people with mental health disorders, combating the existing stigma. In this way, in 2023 more than 46,000 contracts have been formalized in Spain and Portugal thanks to more than 16,600 collaborating companies.
The Seniors Program so that they have the maximum possibilities of personal development, taking into account their concerns, their knowledge and their needs. Thus, the “La Caixa” Foundation has a network of more than 600 of its own centers and in agreements with different public administrations, as well as the “La Caixa” Foundation Spaces in which the active role of the elderly is promoted through a broad proposal. training, with workshops and face-to-face and group activities, and even with online self-training. In addition, the Always Accompanied Program, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2024, focuses on creating social relationships of trust to facilitate personal empowerment and management of loneliness for our elderly.
And finally, the End of Life program, which since 2008 has served more than 300,000 patients and 385,000 family members, providing comprehensive care to people with advanced illnesses to improve their quality of life in both emotional, social and spiritual aspects. In addition, it carries out important awareness-raising work to sensitize society about palliative care and the peculiarities that these people face.
This model of social action follows very specific principles of action that are governed by anticipation, opening lines of action where others do not reach, due to complementarity, since they consider collaboration with all social agents, as well as sustainability and efficiency, to be essential. , with proven results and indicators that allow us to evaluate the impact and durability of the programs and, finally, by capillarity, reaching all provinces with a comprehensive service to offer a global sense of social justice.
The “la Caixa” Foundation collaborates with a network of more than 800 social entities in Spain and Portugal that are responsible for implementing these programs and working directly with the recipients. These initiatives have a real and transformative impact on people’s lives, covering their entire life cycle.
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