The Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran Project is now active in over twenty municipalities and has 171 community agents

The Minister of Social Rights, Mònica Martínez Bravo, visited the “Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran” project in Sort—an initiative aimed at tackling unwanted loneliness in the Alt Pirineu and Val d’Aran through community intervention, technology, and citizen involvement. The visit was also attended by the President of the Pallars Sobirà County Council, Carlos L. Isus Castellarnau; the Mayor of Sort, Baldo Farré; the Public Health Deputy of the Lleida Provincial Council, Òscar Martínez; the County Director of Social Services, Adriana Vidal; and the Director of the iSocial Foundation, Toni Codina.

During her visit, the Minister learned firsthand about the program’s operations. Since 2023, Vincles has been established in over twenty municipalities across the Catalan Pyrenees. The project introduces a more proactive approach to addressing unwanted loneliness, leveraging Big Data technology for early detection of social isolation in people over 55 and activating local networks and citizen participation to intervene and provide support in identified cases.

Following the project presentation, Vincles representatives and the Minister visited a local business involved in the program, where they spoke with the project’s community activator in Pallars Sobirà, social worker Elena Santos, as well as two community agents (local business professionals who voluntarily participate in the project to identify potential cases of unwanted loneliness) and two elderly beneficiaries. This exchange provided valuable insight into the work of Vincles and the positive impact it is having in the region.

Positive Impact of the Project

Since its launch, Vincles has achieved significant results: it currently has 54 social and healthcare professionals working across the six Pyrenean counties, along with 171 trained community agents who help identify and address cases of unwanted loneliness in towns and villages. Additionally, 47 social awareness training sessions have been conducted to improve detection, and 209 community activities have been organized for beneficiaries, including workshops, participatory processes, and talks.

The project, led by the iSocial Foundation and funded through Next Generation funds from the Department of Social Rights of the Government of Catalonia, has become an innovative solution and a benchmark in Catalonia and Europe in this field.