Santa Cruz de Tenerife Overhauls Social Services to Tackle Rising Vulnerability and Homelessness
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is restructuring its social services by integrating the IMAS into the city council, reforming home care to eliminate waiting lists, and launching new initiatives to address homelessness, housing instability, and family support.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife is restructuring its social services as it integrates the Municipal Institute for Social Attention (IMAS) directly into the city council. Councilor Charín González explains that this shift is necessary to better address the city’s changing demographics and the growing challenges of social vulnerability.
A key part of this plan is reforming the Home Help Service (SAD). The council is moving away from a single public contract toward a system of agreements with partner organizations. This change, which will run alongside the current contract for up to six years, aims to eliminate waiting lists—which have seen as many as 60 people waiting for help—by providing more flexible support for the city’s aging population. The goal is to serve more than 1,300 users beyond the capacity of the main contract.
Addressing homelessness remains a difficult, long-term challenge. The council faces legal hurdles when trying to help individuals with mental health issues or addictions who refuse assistance, with 27 such cases currently with the Public Prosecutor’s Office. To improve this, the city plans to move away from relying solely on the Municipal Reception Center. Over the next three years, it will create smaller residential units across the city to help users gain independence and reduce social stigma.
The city is also seeing a rise in the "working poor." While unemployment is down, many families are still struggling to afford basic necessities like rent and food despite having jobs. In response, the council has set aside four million euros for rent assistance in 2025 and has increased its social services staff to nearly 200 people, including new social workers and outreach specialists.
Finally, the city is prioritizing family support by investing over 400,000 euros in free nursery schools and early-start programs, with plans to expand extracurricular activities in the future. Throughout these changes, the council emphasizes that better coordination between government agencies is essential to ensure that complex bureaucracy does not prevent citizens from getting the help they need.