The hard life of the homeless in the San Fernando park in Maspalomas

 

San Fernando has had a new neighbor for a few weeks, however, her complicated situation is far from that of the rest of the neighbors. In the shade of a tree, between cardboard and with his belongings covered from the sun and the view of passers-by, this is how he has been living for weeks on Tejeda Avenue, near the San Fernando park in Maspalomas in front of the San Fernando parish. , where approximately eight more people are in a similar situation.

 

 

Marl..., of Italian nationality and 64 years old, receives help from the Center for Reception and Promotional Intervention with Homeless People (CAIPSHO) and affirms that he is undergoing bureaucratic procedures to regulate his situation. Among Marl's few personal belongings... you can see a stuffed animal and a small radio, signs of a life that has been cut short until reaching a situation as critical as the current one. 

 

 

He states that after the death of his mother and various family conflicts, he lost the house where he was staying, which forced him to have to combine three jobs to survive, a situation that worsened with the pandemic and led to the current situation in the that is found.

 

Marl... tells us that the police have told her on several occasions that she cannot stay inside the park or in front of the parish, to which she answers that it is the only place where she feels safe to spend the night. Despite the prohibition that the agents have transferred to Marl..., the reality is that in various parks, bridges and caves surrounding the tourist areas of San Bartolomé de Tirajana there are hundreds of homeless people.

 

 

The drama of the homeless in the Canary Islands goes far beyond that of M...... in San Fernando. After Murcia, the archipelago is the second community with the highest percentage of homeless people, with a total of 947 (49,95%) homeless people according to the latest data from the INE. These data reflect a serious social problem that has even been given a name: homelessness. The precedents indicate that when a person reaches the critical situation of being homeless, it is very difficult to reverse it, so prevention measures are essential.

 

Social stigma has always pointed to addictions to drugs, alcohol or gambling as the main cause of this situation, but the reality is very different. The difficulty in acquiring a home, debt or unstable work situations have become potential causes of causing a person to find themselves in a situation of not having a roof over their heads to spend the night. “Living day to day” or the death of a family member or person on whom you are dependent are other circumstances that can lead to homelessness.