Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran
Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran
Picture: Gemma Pla (Tucutun)
Project for early detection and social intervention in situations of loneliness of the elderly in the Alt Pirineu-Aran region.
(2023-2025)
Project of innovation in social services that aims to implement a pioneering initiative to detect and address early and effectively, from basic social services, situations of unwanted loneliness of the elderly in the six mountain regions of the Catalan Pyrenees.
The detection and attention to situations of loneliness of the elderly are today a concern and a priority objective for the basic social services of the six Pyrenean counties, given that the Alt Pirineu-Aran concentrates the three most over-aged counties in Catalonia, while the other three counties of the vegueria are above the Catalan average. At the same time, Alt Pirineu-Aran is the territory with the highest rate of single-person households, almost 1/3 of the total, much higher than the rest of the vegueries and the average for Catalonia.
The Vincles Alt Pirineu-Aran project aims to address this serious need in the social services of the six regions, which currently lack sufficient resources, suitable tools, or a clear methodology to tackle it. It proposes to address this through the piloting, implementation, and evaluation of the Basque system Auzosare, a technology-based and community-based system that has proven to be highly effective and successful in mountain municipalities of Guipúzcoa over the past years. Developed by Agintzari and Gislan with the support of BBK and the European Union, it combines a traditional asset of mountain regions, such as community care, with technological innovation to put both at the service of the most vulnerable population.
First, through the Vincles-detection tool—a digital tool based on big data—regional social services can detect, early, automatically, and with geolocation, elderly individuals at risk of experiencing unwanted loneliness. Next, Vincles raises awareness and engages the community to strengthen neighborhood networks and promote community activities that respond to the identified situations. Finally, with the support of professionals, it offers support and accompaniment to people in situations of social vulnerability, inviting them to participate in community activities.
On the other hand, through the AISSS Alt Pirineu-Aran study, the iSocial Foundation has promoted the participation of the Health system in the project by incorporating health data into the early detection digital system and fostering collaboration between health professionals and social service professionals. This integration aims to make addressing loneliness an area of coordinated social and health action.
The project is driven by a consortium led by the iSocial Foundation, which also includes the six County Councils of Alt Pirineu-Aran (Alt Urgell, Pallars Sobirà, Pallars Jussà, La Cerdanya, Alta Ribagorça, and Val d’Aran), the University of Lleida, and three third sector entities operating in these regions: Cooperativa Alba Jussà, Fundació Integra Pirineus, and Associació ABD. In addition, the Alt Pirineu-Aran Development and Promotion Institute (IDAPA) and the two Basque organizations that developed the Auzosare system are collaborating: the cooperative group Agintzari and the technology company Gislan.
Objectius
- To incorporate Vincles-detecció, a technological system of standardizable territorial information applied to the protection of the elderly in the Alt Pirineu-Aran, which allows to detect situations of loneliness and social isolation in an updated, immediate and accurate way.
- To improve the efficiency of the actions of the Social Services of the six counties by carrying out highly accurate social diagnosis, which includes the needs and opportunities of each county for a precise planning of the intervention, using innovative technological tools and the participation of the formal and informal resources of each county.
- Activate the protective capacity of the community, by raising awareness of the problems of elderly people feeling lonely in each county and the involvement of community assets (people, businesses, services, etc.) in the different action responses (planning, dynamics of mutual support, network of “antennae” sensitive to possible risk situations, etc.).
- o evaluate the project in order to extract evidence for continuous improvement to systematize an effective, replicable and sustainable community intervention model both for the Social Services of Alt Pirineu-Aran and for the Basic Social Services Areas of Catalonia as a whole.
Expected benefits
- Early detection by regional Social Services of unwanted loneliness among the population to enable proactive, rather than reactive, action and to prevent situations of social vulnerability in towns and municipalities.
- Ensuring the universality of regional Social Services in addressing the issue of loneliness. Invisibility is a defining characteristic of loneliness, but the Vincles technology tool makes it possible to detect and respond to everyone affected.
- Providing personalized care to elderly individuals who feel lonely, reconnecting them with the community and improving their autonomy and quality of life.
- Strengthening community networks and fostering more cohesive and engaged local communities.
- Providing peace of mind to family members and neighbors, thanks to the attention of social services and the protection of community care.
Leader:
Partners:
In collaboration with:
With the support of:
Projectes d’innovació
NIDUS Mental Health
Solidigital
DigitaliSSB (Promotion of the Digitalization of the Basic Social Services of Catalonia)
REHAB-LAB.CAT
ALL BY MYSELF
