The Governing Board has today authorized the new contract for the home laundry service, a preventive municipal resource that aims to support the task of cleaning personal and household clothing for people in vulnerable circumstances. With this service, which involves a multi-year budget expenditure of 1.2 million euros, the goal is not only to promote proper hygiene habits among users but also to allow them to remain in their homes for as long as possible in the best conditions, with monitoring by Social Services to prevent deterioration in their social situation.
Specifically, the service is aimed at individuals over 65 years old who live alone, with little or no family support, lacking the necessary means in their homes to perform this task, or facing limitations in carrying it out. Individuals under 65 years old who require this resource due to being at risk of social exclusion or in a dependent situation may also benefit. In both cases, their social workers at the 40 municipal Social Services centers are responsible for processing the service.
The service staff collects, washes, dries, irons, and delivers personal and household clothing to the users’ homes. Additionally, they provide treatment for clothing infested with vectors. This service also relieves the burden on family caregivers of individuals with high dependency needs, who typically handle the regular changing of bed linens.
320 users and 36,000 kilos of laundry washed in 2024
The new contract will be executed from November 1, 2025, to October 31, 2028, with the possibility of a two-year extension. In 2024, the needs of around 320 individuals were met on average per month, with over 36,000 kilos of laundry washed, averaging 13.8 kilos per user each month.
The typical profile of users for this service is an elderly man over 80 years old living alone, with mild to moderate functional dependency, facing social risk and socio-economic precariousness. Last year, 20% of users were under 65 years old in significant vulnerability, receiving more extensive monitoring as this was the only service they accepted from Social Services. /
