150,000 people live alone in the Balearic Islands: initiatives to ensure no one eats alone this Christmas

CitadelNearly 150,000 people live alone in the Balearic Islands, and half of them are under 60. Loneliness is not just a problem affecting the elderly; increasingly, young people and adults are living alone. Ferran Didac i Lluch, a philosopher from Mahón specializing in geography, even predicts that unwanted loneliness will increase by 62% in the Islands over the next 15 years. Many of these people will also spend the Christmas and New Year holidays alone, when social isolation due to a lack of relationships or unforeseen circumstances becomes more pronounced. Women, especially in old age and due to their greater longevity, are more likely to live alone and, therefore, are more likely to face these kinds of situations.

This has little to do with the traditional family reunion that, on the contrary, takes place in most homes, where children who live away take the opportunity to return home and reunite around the same table with their parents and relatives.

For those who have no one to share these days with, however, the holidays are no longer a cause for celebration and joy, but for sadness and nostalgia. To overcome this, some innovative initiatives are beginning to emerge that try to create community bonds in an increasingly individualistic society.

In Ciutadella, two people, Laura and Jorge, have organized a collective celebration of Christmas Day at the Casino 17 de Enero. They clearly state who it is for: "For people who have no one to spend Christmas with and don't want to be alone."

The driving force behind this initiative is Laura Anglada, former Councilor for Social Services in the Ciutadella City Council, a woman who describes herself as "a restless citizen, dissatisfied with injustices and actively working to make changes." This Christmas initiative aims to combat social isolation and individualism, and because she says she is convinced of "the need to recover and nurture community moments and spaces to feel the warmth of human connection."

Anglada wants to highlight that "loneliness isn't just among the elderly, which is the first thing that comes to mind, but also among young people, and it grows more as social media use increases." For her, "loneliness isn't just about not having anyone to have dinner with; sometimes you can be surrounded by people without having anyone you can trust or feel at home with. We become increasingly withdrawn and take refuge in individualism, which saddens us and generates more anxiety."

Her contribution, inviting people to share these holidays, she explains, isn't limited to Christmas; she wants it to extend throughout the year. "When I was a councilwoman, I realized that a society can't progress if we don't help each other," she says. "And by doing this, I feel like I'm putting words to a very sensitive reality that resonates with many people. I'm convinced that more than one person has thought about doing something like this at some point, and what satisfies me is seeing the response."

A week before Christmas Day, a dozen people had signed up, but Laura Anglada says that many more have written to her or congratulated her on the initiative. The Casino 17 de Enero is offering its activity room free of charge, and the bar is also available to the organizers for whatever they may need. Those interested only need to bring something to eat and pay €2 for drinks.

Charity Menus

Other organizations, such as Cáritas, have been working for years to ensure that the island's most vulnerable groups don't miss out on a shared Christmas celebration. This year, teams of volunteers will be spending time with residents of nursing homes in Maó and Santa Rita, in Ciutadella, while other teams made up of immigrants and parishioners will come together to share Christmas activities and traditions. A lunch will also be organized at the Ca n'Aguedet restaurant in El Mercadal for the island's most vulnerable families. In previous years, even Menorca's most renowned chefs have gotten involved, cooking traditional recipes to create a Christmas menu for 350 families in need.

This Christmas, Cáritas is making a public appeal to "commit to ensuring that having a dignified life is no longer a matter of luck." The slogan of this year's campaign, "While there are people, there is hope," also seems to be an invitation to "be there for those who need us." The latest Foessa report makes it clear. Some 233,000 people in the Balearic Islands, almost one in five, live in a vulnerable situation. Housing is presented, precisely, as the main focus of inequality, since 29% of the population suffers from residential exclusion.