The City Council and Cudeca Foundation train volunteers who will participate in the Program for Accompanying Elderly People in Loneliness.

The City Council of Estepona and Cudeca Foundation have made this week the training process of 19 volunteers who will be responsible for assisting older people who suffer unwanted loneliness.

The councilman attached to the area of Elderly, Daniel Garcia, said that thanks to this collaboration agreement between the two institutions, through which they will develop initiatives that address this problem directly and closely, is a response to one of the most urgent social challenges of our time: the aging of the population and the progressive disconnection of many older people from their family, neighborhood and community environment.

The training process for the volunteers has been carried out this week by Inmaculada Ruiz and Eva Víbora, from the Cudeca Foundation. During these days, both practical and emotional aspects of accompaniment have been addressed, including affective communication skills, the design of meaningful activities, dealing with complex situations and knowledge of the resources of the environment. The aim was not only to keep our elders company, but also to offer a meaningful link that gives back to these people their voice, their history and their sense of belonging to the community.

In this way, learning was divided into three blocks, the first of which consisted of ‘Understanding and connecting: description of the current situation of loneliness and the concept of volunteering’, the second dealt with ‘Management of emotions and resources: specific cases, complex situations, end-of-life accompaniment and compassion’, and the last dealt with ‘Integration and application: practices’. The principles that should govern accompaniment, which are respect, authenticity, commitment and reciprocity, were also emphasized.

The mayor said that volunteering has always had an essential relevance in the city, in this sense has indicated that this collaboration aims to train volunteers to accompany, listen and be present in an active and respectful way with those in need. It is not only about keeping company, but also about offering a meaningful link that gives back to these people their voice, their history and their sense of belonging to the community.

With this initiative, the City Council and Cudeca reaffirm their commitment to creating a more just, empathetic and caring society, where no one has to face old age alone.