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Valencia Moves to Make Home Help Service Free, Unveils €49.3 Million Overhaul

City hall will begin this week the formal steps to eliminate user fees under a new three‑year Ogara SCA contract.

Overview

  • The mayor presented the upgraded municipal Home Help Service, committing to gratuity for current and future users starting with administrative procedures this week.
  • The contract, awarded July 25 to Ogara SCA, totals €49,281,347.08 over three years with an optional fourth year.
  • Funding is structured in three annual tranches of €16,427,115.69 from September 1 to August 31, with a contingency to raise the budget by up to 20% (€9,477,182.13) if the waiting list exceeds 200 people.
  • Operational capacity rises with an 18% increase in service hours, up to 23% more potential beneficiaries and staffing growing from 368 to 415 with an expanded interprofessional team.
  • New measures include temporary emergency accommodation with full board, a home repairs service to ensure habitability, urgent residential places for post‑hospital patients, enhanced social activation to combat loneliness and intensified deep cleaning and disinsection for severely affected homes.