With the arrival of the tourist season, the resumption of economic activity has considerably alleviated the pressure on Ibiza’s main social aid organisations, with a fall of around 50% in the number of families coming to their food distribution services. However, as the island coordinator of the Cruz Roja, Mary Castaño, points out, “this is just an illusion”.
During the most critical moments of the state of alarm, the Cruz Roja was assisting about 900 users a week. “Now we are at about 300 and that may seem normal, but these numbers are still too high,” she warned. In fact, the average in 2019 was 200 a week. It should be noted that, being mostly families, each of these users collects products for an average of three people, explained Castaño.
The numbers have gone down a lot and it is notICEABLE that there is employment, but we are STILL FAR FROM NORMALITY
“The numbers have gone down a lot and it is noticeable that there is employment, but we are still far from normality,” she said. The Cruz Roja, which had to extend its food distribution service to five days a week due to the explosion in demand, has been able to return to the usual three days with the start of the tourist season.
Summer sees a 50% drop
But the number of users this summer compared to February and March, historically the most critical months, has fallen by the same percentage as in the years before the pandemic, around 50%. “We are still on high alert, because the season may be short and in October things can change a lot. We can’t afford to relax,” Castaño said.
Statistics from Ibiza Cáritas Diocesana show that from January to July, they have attended to 3,150 people, with an increase of 7% compared to 2020. However, the comparison in the tourist season months, from May to July, shows a significant improvement this summer, with a 21% drop in the demand for food distribution.
The PRESSURE FOR WELFARE has decreased a lot compared to a few months ago and many companies ARE looking for workers
“The truth is that the pressure for welfare has decreased a lot compared to a few months ago and many companies are looking for workers”, says the coordinator of Cáritas Diocesana, Gustavo Gómez. But, equally, this easing compared to previous months is still far from overcoming the crisis situation. “We still have 40% more users than in 2019,” warns Gómez.
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