SOCIAL SERVICES
- Social Services is repeating this initiative, which was launched last year through the Basic Material Assistance program of the Community of Madrid.
- These cards allow beneficiaries to purchase food, including fresh products, and hygiene items.
- The program also includes support measures such as information on resources, referral to them, or direct provision of services.
- «From the Social Services Department, we continue to work to provide support to vulnerable families in Leganés and once again we are joining this program of the Community of Madrid. Social workers from the Delegation will assist individuals interested in participating in this initiative, verifying that they meet the requirements,» detailed the Councilor of Social Services, Jesús Rodríguez.
For the second consecutive year, the Leganés City Council has joined the Basic Material Assistance program of the Community of Madrid, a project through which they will provide debit cards for the purchase of food to disadvantaged individuals with dependents. The budget allocated to this initiative has increased from 300,000 to 375,000 euros compared to last year, allowing beneficiary families to acquire food, including fresh products, and hygiene items.
The Social Services Department is responsible for managing this program, co-financed at 90% by the European Social Fund Plus (2021-2027), whose objective is to address the material deprivation of the most vulnerable individuals through these debit cards that can be used to buy food and other basic products at designated locations. Additionally, they will receive support measures to promote their social inclusion.
Requirements to receive the cards
Those eligible for this program are individuals experiencing material deprivation who are part of a family unit with at least one dependent minor and are registered in Leganés. The applicant must be of legal age, except if they are an emancipated minor. As a key requirement, beneficiaries must live in households whose income per consumption unit is less than 48% of the national median income.
Access to the Basic Material Assistance program will be granted following a referral from the Leganés Department of Social Affairs. Individuals interested in participating in this program must request an appointment with social workers, which can be done in person at one of the service centers (Juan Muñoz, Ramiro de Maeztu, and La Fortuna) or by email at uaserviciossociales@leganes.org.
Products to be purchased with the cards
The provision of food will be carried out through a system of exchangeable cards, supplied by the General Directorate of Social Affairs to those participants who are referred. Through the card, individuals can purchase food products and other basic material assistance items, such as hygiene products like soap, shampoo, toothpaste, as well as menstrual hygiene products and infant diapers.
Establishments will have a system in place to facilitate the cards and exclude ineligible products at the checkout, such as: all types of carbonated beverages and sodas containing gas, sugar, or substitutes; all types of alcoholic beverages; dietary products; pastries and sweets; bottled water, except in cases where access to potable water is unavailable; processed products, except for precooked legumes and canned goods.
Support measures
The program also includes a series of support measures, with recipients expected to receive at least one based on their needs. These are actions framed within a personalized itinerary aimed at social inclusion, following a personalized assessment and social diagnosis of each particular situation.
Main measures include providing information on available social resources and access to them; referral or redirection to social, educational, and healthcare resources; and direct provision of services, programs, and activities aimed at social or socio-labor insertion.
«We continue to work to support vulnerable families»
The Councilor of Social Services and Family, Jesús Rodríguez, emphasized that «from the Social Services Department, we continue to work to offer support to vulnerable families, and once again we are joining this program of the Community of Madrid, which increases the budget for Leganés to 375,000 euros.»
«Social Services workers will be the ones to assist individuals interested in participating, verifying if they meet the requirements to receive these cards, which will allow them to obtain food, including fresh products that they do not normally have access to when receiving food directly,» detailed the councilor.
