The new centre for people with mental illness issues that is currently being built on Avenida de las Cortes Valencianas is now close to completion. The facility, which will be managed by the Adiem Association, is expected to be completed in October. It will have a capacity for 30 patients supported by 14 staff, and is located, next to the CRIS, on a plot of land that was ceded by the Torrevieja City Council to the charity for a period of 75 years.
Both the association and the council had recognised the need for the new centre with the current available support no longer adequate to meet the city needs.
It is now hoped that people with mental illness who are in a situation of greater dependency will be referred to these new facilities.
The new Adiem facilities has five classrooms, three multipurpose rooms, an industrial kitchen and five offices arranged around a patio that provides plenty of light to all the rooms. The centre will be staffed with between 12 and 14 professionals including psychologists, therapists, social workers, educators and monitors.
The planned investment is 1,350,000 euros, financed by the Generalitat Valenciana (750,000 euros), the Torrevieja City Council (437,000 euros) and the ADIEM Foundation itself (163,000 euros).
“This is another example of the positive public-private collaboration, which are so necessary, not only for Torrevieja, but for the entire Vega Baja region. It has been a tremendous effort by everyone, which is rewarded by the attention and well-being of the people who will be cared for here. In addition to promoting employment, it is also necessary to employ new medical staff,” said the mayor, Eduardo Dolón.
According to the managing director of the ADIEM Foundation, Paco Canales, the plan is for all the paperwork to be ready by mid-November so that the building can be operational in December.
Adiem is not the only association in Torrevieja awaiting the construction of a day centre. AFA Torrevieja, the local association that cares for people with Alzheimer’s, barely has enough space to meet the growing demand of users.
They are currently located in one of the old Renfe coach houses next to the former Railway Station Park. The plan is to locate this new centre on a municipal plot opposite the Quirón hospital. The financing of the works will be fully assumed by the City Council. The project has not yet been drawn up, but its cost is expected to greatly exceed two million euros.
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The Mayor of Torrevieja, Eduardo Dolón, the Councillor for NGOs and Volunteering, Trudy Páez, the Councillor for Social Welfare, Óscar Urtasun, the Managing Director of the ADIEM Foundation, Paco Canales, and the President of the ADIEM Foundation, Gertrudis Marcos, attended the visit to the new Adiem facilities on Wednesday.
