Andorra Red Cross Solidarity Shop Saved from Closure Amid Rising Demand
The shop, aiding families with essential goods, served 393 users in 2024 after reversing closure plans, with numbers climbing due to population.
Key Points
- Served 393 users in 2024, up from 273 in 2022, with 134 active by Feb 2025.
- Demand driven by Andorra's population growth and high rental costs impacting vulnerable families.
- Users referred by Ministry of Social Affairs after financial assessment.
- Director Jordi Ribes highlights shop's vital social role despite past closure plans.
Andorra's Red Cross solidarity shop has been given a new lease on life after serving nearly 400 users last year, reversing earlier plans to close it.
The initiative, which provides essential goods to families struggling to make ends meet, continues to play a vital social role despite past closure threats, according to Jordi Ribes, director of the Andorran Red Cross. In 2024, the shop assisted 393 users throughout the year—a figure close to the more than 400 recorded in 2023 and marking an upward trend from 273 in 2022, based on the organisation's annual reports.
"Already this year, by February, we have 134 active users from 75 families, so the numbers are rising," Ribes said.
He attributed the increase to two main factors. The first is simple demographics: as Andorra's population grows, so do its needs. The second is the rising cost of rent, which consumes a large portion of household incomes and leaves less for food. "This hits the most vulnerable hardest, driving them to the solidarity shop," Ribes explained.
All users are referred by the Ministry of Social Affairs, which assesses each family's financial situation before approval.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources: