Tenerife Man Living in Cave for 16 Years Highlights Homelessness Crisis

Juan Manuel has been living in a cave in the Santos ravine in Santa Cruz for 16 years. He's not alone; eight other people, mostly foreign men, also call these caves home. They've turned the natural caves into makeshift houses.

Each person looks after their own little stone shelter. Juan Manuel shares his cave with his friend Manuel, who is from Tenerife. They've lived together in the ravine for 13 years. Manuel helps Juan Manuel out with money from his basic income, especially when Juan Manuel is sick or needs food.

Juan Manuel is 41 years old and struggles with mental health issues. He's one of many homeless people who are often seen on the streets of the city. He was born in Galicia and came to Tenerife almost 20 years ago to find work. He has no family and is completely alone. He started out working as an unofficial car parking attendant, but then fell in with the wrong crowd and got involved with drugs.

Manuel told DIARIO DE AVISOS that Juan Manuel was doing well when they first met. "He was a normal person," Manuel said, "but these people sold him pills and even morphine patches. If he didn't pay, they would beat him up, even at the parking lot where he worked. It drove him crazy, and he started causing trouble with people who were parking. He ended up destroying several cars and was sent to jail for a year."

After his prison sentence, Juan Manuel went back to the cave. He applied for benefits for his time in prison and his mental disability, but he doesn't receive any money now. "He hasn't had any money for over three years," Manuel explained. "At first, they arranged payments for him, but then they stopped them for some reason, and now he has nothing. I don't have much, but I get a basic income, and I help him out whenever I can."

Manuel also complained that the Mobile Approach Unit (UMA), which is part of the Municipal Institute of Social Care (IMAS), isn't providing Juan Manuel with any help, other than a food card. Other people in the ravine have asked for help on his behalf, because they don't think it's fair that some people get assistance while Juan Manuel gets nothing. "He needs a place to live, a supervised apartment where he can get medical help," Manuel said. "He often wakes up screaming and runs off, sometimes even naked. It's very upsetting to see."

Charín González, the head of IMAS, said that "the UMA is working with this person and looking into how to help him, but he is not very cooperative with social services. If someone doesn't want help, it's impossible to provide it." She added that "there is an intervention plan in place for this case, as there is for others. This doesn't mean we do whatever the person wants, but what the professional teams think is best. So, he does have a plan."

González emphasized that "it's difficult to help homeless people with mental health problems. We have a team of people and resources trying to help, but bureaucratic and legal issues often get in the way. We need to change the laws so we can better respond to this problem." She also mentioned that "in some cases, we need to go to court to get permission to help people who aren't fully mentally capable. If they don't want help, and the courts don't grant permission, as has happened before, they are free to decide for themselves."

The Acampada Reivindicativa Lolo Dorta movement has spoken out about the "abandonment" of homeless people with severe physical and mental health problems in Tenerife. They say that the case of Francisco, "the most dramatic case in the city," highlights this issue, which DIARIO DE AVISOS has also reported on.

The group believes that "the city council's social services are hiding behind the excuse that they don't have the authority to act, but there are three laws that allow them to do so, two of which don't require prior court authorization: article 9.2 of the Law of Autonomy of the Patient, which allows a doctor to intervene and take someone to a hospital without court approval; article 6, o) 1 and 2, of the Law of Sanitary Organization of the Canary Islands, which allows someone to be removed from the street against their will if they are at risk; and article 763 of the Civil Procedure regulations."

They added that "it's clear that the problem isn't legal, and that the mayor, José Manuel Bermúdez, is lying, knowingly or unknowingly, when he says he can't intervene with people who are homeless and have mental health problems."

"The mayor's response can't just be police or welfare, and we can't wait for people to be in terminal condition. We need to intervene earlier, with decent housing programs, professional support, local healthcare, and teams working on the street. Otherwise, we'll only arrive when it's too late," they stressed.