Charity sees more impoverished Spaniards seeking aid in 2012

The Catholic charity Cáritas expects that the number of people seeking its services may dramatically rise next year because of a worsening economic crisis.

The agency, which provides a wide range of aid to impoverished individuals, served more than 114,000 people in Madrid alone in 2010, say Cáritas sources. Of that number, 64 percent of those who asked for help were unemployed and 82 percent had children. The majority of those seeking aid were Spanish citizens.

In Barcelona, Cáritas, along with 400 Catholic Church parishes throughout the region, have helped 149,000 people in Catalonia. According to official figures, 20 percent of Catalans live in poverty.

To help the needy, Cáritas has set up a Solidarity Emergency Fund to which it has assigned some two million euros in donations to help cover the basic needs of families, including providing them with food and shelter. Unemployment and the loss of homes due to people's inability to continue to pay their mortgages are the two principal causes driving Catalans to seek aid, Cáritas says.

The Catholic charity has also embarked on an awareness campaign aimed at letting people know that there are many who are in dire need of help.

"A lot of people have lost their hope. But between all of us, we can help them recover it. Help us help them," says a Christmas campaign spot.