Mallorca: Missing lifts can deepen loneliness

In Palma, Mallorca, a missing lift can leave an older person unable to get out and deepen loneliness, Matilde Fernández warns on Wednesday, 21 October. Michelle, 79, lives in a housing scheme in Es Molinar, Palma, where younger neighbours help her feel less alone. With her family abroad, she says she would be “very cut off” without them.

When a flat becomes a barrier

Fernández, director of the State Observatory on Unwanted Loneliness, says mobility problems can cause people to withdraw when they cannot leave home. She gives the example of someone with chronic illnesses living on the fourth floor without a lift. Missing ramps or handrails can also make it harder to move around a building.

Younger neighbours make a difference

Michelle’s home is part of an intergenerational housing scheme run by the Balearic Housing Institute. Neighbours there cook, sew, practise yoga and do tai chi together.

Miguel Ángel, 32, says older neighbours bring knowledge and experience, while younger ones offer company and organise workshops. Magdalena, 80, says she feels well supported. A young woman visits her to play dominoes.

Loneliness reaches the young, too

The observatory says 25.5 per cent of young people feel unwanted loneliness. Fernández says technology helps people communicate but cannot provide every kind of connection. Psychologist Chema Ramiro warns that social media and constant connectivity can weaken face-to-face contact and social skills.

Both young and older people can feel ashamed to ask for help, the observatory says. Fernández urges them to overcome that hesitation and calls for more public funding for organisations that support lonely people.

Topics: Housing · Social affairs · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com