Benidorm | Red Cross

The number of people who are turning to the Red Cross in Benidorm on the Costa Blanca rose by 3000 in 2011.This is more than double the number for 2010 and in the main involved single mothers  and divorced men between the ages of 40 to 60.

Within this number there were double the number of Spanish families to non-Spanish families.Many of those who go to the Red Cross have been passed to them by the Spanish charity Caritas.

Many of these families are becoming the long term unemployed and a Red Cross spokesperson said that more should be done to get jobs for these people.They do not want to be dealing with long term supplies to needy families.They are more than happy to deal with short term supplies of food and clothing though.

The European food bank does supply to Benidorm council and then they pass it on to the Red Cross and Caritas as they know who requires the most help.

At the moment Caritas is currently helping over 600 people in Villajoyosa to survive the winter and the present economic crisis.They also are known to help people with their bills and rent if eviction is about to happen.