Jobless turning to grandparents as lifeline, says poll
Thirty percent of Catalan seniors helping other family members make ends meet
A report by the Red Cross chapter in Catalonia has revealed that grandparents in the region have become an important resource for family members who have been left without a job and have no other sources of income.
The report, entitled The impact of the crisis on the elderly, states that 30 percent of people aged over 65 have been helping at least one family member make ends meet over the past two years. Josep Marquès, the Red Cross chapter's president, called on the government not to make any severe cutbacks that would affect the elderly.
Red Cross officials took a survey of 510 elderly people who use the humanitarian organization's services. Of the 603,932 unemployed people in Catalonia, around 204,000 have seen their jobless benefits run out. A nationwide unemployment rate of around 25 percent means the same phenomenon is being played out across the different regions of Spain.
