After a year and a half with no place to turn, older people in the downtown area of Gijón they will be able, in the coming weeks, to return to the day center and social center of San Agustín. The Ministry of Social Rights and Social Welfare announced it this Wednesday and, although the partners still do not have official confirmation, everything indicates that once the adaptation works are completed, the premises will reopen its doors in the coming days.
A venue for 20,000 members
1,800 square meters for 20,000 members. A place that houses a social center, day center and cafeteria, a service highly demanded by the elderly. The improvement and conditioning works have been delayed for a month, but everything indicates that next week it will reopen its doors. The space has a day center, social center and cafeteria, a service that is recovered due to the high demand it has among users who come to eat there every day. I counted it in BE Gijón the member of the last board of directors of the center, Elena Díaz: “About 60 people eat daily, they serve homemade and tasty food and it is, in addition to many other things, a great value for many people.”
An announced closure
The Principality, which had the intention of closing this center in April 2020, had to do so earlier due to the outbreak of the pandemic of the COVID-19. The reason: the high rent they paid that reached 400,000 euros per year. The regional administration tried to find a place in the downtown area with the same conditions and whose rent was lower, but the efforts were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, the users of the day center were referred to the El Arbeyal social center, those of the social center had, as happened in all of Asturias, to stay at home. Last June, 15 months later, the Principality announced that it had renegotiated the rent of the premises of San Agustín with the owners and had reached an agreement, for which they pay 15% less.
The intention of the regional government is to continue looking for another location to expand services for the elderly in the center of Gijón, the district with the oldest population in the city.
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