The Madrid Network to Fight Poverty and Social Exclusion (EAPN) has reported that more than 260 people in situations of extreme vulnerability will be left without housing in the city starting in the new year. The association has issued a statement following the decision of the Madrid Municipal Housing Company (EMVS) to terminate the Alternative and Temporary Accommodation Program agreement they had with the City Council, in the midst of the worst housing crisis in years.
Among the families affected by the fall of the agreement signed with the council are especially vulnerable people: women victims of gender violence, single-parent and single-parent families, minors with serious illnesses, homeless people, young people in social exclusion and members of the LGTBIQ+ group.
The program was aimed at families registered in Madrid who are in a situation of extreme vulnerability. Through an agreement between the Madrid City Council and the EMVS, it was estimated that 200 municipal homes would be allocated to be managed by NGOs in order to offer support to families. The objective was to stabilize their socioeconomic situation and move towards a definitive housing solution.
The City Council and the EMVS have announced the end of the agreement at the end of the year, leaving 82 families managed by 14 entities without a housing alternative, according to the EAPN in a statement. According to the entity, the meetings with the municipal company have not been fruitful and they denounce the “lack of support” from the City Council.
The response of the Municipal Housing Company
The agreement was signed during the legislature of former mayor Ana Botella to try to alleviate the housing crisis that especially affected people in vulnerable situations and has been extended twice: 2017 and 2021. Even so, the EMVS affirms that The agreement is now terminated because “it ends on December 31.”
In statements to elDiario.es, the municipal company assures that it has contacted and met with all the entities involved to request information about the people who occupy the homes and try to provide an individual solution to them.
The EMVS also points out that the objective of the “temporary and shared” accommodation programs was not being met in a general way, since “families remained in the homes for a long time”, becoming awards “outside the official regulations of the EMVS ”.
The EAPN, for its part, demands that the agreement be extended due to the lack of housing alternatives in Madrid and the crisis in the real estate market but also due to the extreme vulnerability of those affected. Furthermore, it denounces the “lack of coordination” between the Madrid council and the EMVS and asks to review the contracts to guarantee their continuity linked to social entities.
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