• Church social services agency says fewer poor requiring greater assistance
• Assistance needed to meet basic household needs up by 40 percent since 2011
The Spanish Catholic church’s national social assistance agency, Cáritas Española, presented its annual report on poverty and social exclusion in Spain on Tuesday, noting that while the number of individuals seeking Cáritas assistance during 2015 fell by 10 percent, the level of poverty experienced by those seeking help in covering the costs of food, clothing and household expense grew by more than 20 percent during the year.
According to Cáritas Española general secretary Sebastián Mora, the agency helped nearly 1.98 million people in Spain seeking its assistance during 2015, down 200,000 from the year previous. But, the amount of aid needed by individuals and families seeking assistance was up by 22 percent, showing that the situation of those who remain below the poverty line or are at risk of social exclusion due to poverty in Spain is worse than ever.
The rise in the level of poverty translated into an overall 3 percent increase in Cáritas assistance to those in need during 2015, with individuals or heads of households recurring to Caritas for assistance on average 7.4 times during the year. Since 2011, the agency said, the amount of basic social assistance provided by Cáritas to cover the costs of food, clothing and household expenses has risen by nearly 40 percent for affected families and individuals.
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