Greece strengthens "Help at Home" program to support vulnerable citizens during COVID-19 crisis

Struggling to stand on her feet and even talk sometimes due to several chronic health problems, Greek pensioner Aspasia Tampouratzi is eagerly awaiting the knock on her door once a week by employees of the municipality of Nea Smyrni in Athens.

The staff members of the "Help at Home" program are a beam of light in the darkness of anxiety she feels after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, she told Xinhua on Tuesday. They provide her with the essentials, food, medication and a few encouraging words and warm smiles.

"I am suffering from diabetes and a thousand more illnesses. The elderly lady (a friend) here was also alone, she is 95, so I told her 'come here, we can share the food.' I call the ladies and they bring me whatever I need," she said.

Tampouratzi is one of the hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of the "Help at Home" program, which is run for years by municipalities across Greece in coordination with the central government.

In the wake of the pandemic, the Greek government boosted it in order to meet the increased needs so that no one will be left behind alone, as Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said a few days ago during a teleconference on initiatives to support the most vulnerable members of Greek society, according to an e-mailed press statement.

In recent weeks the local government has been funded by the Ministry of Interior with 15.7 million euros (17.2 million U.S. dollars) to address the emerging needs due to the virus and it will be further funded by another 12 million euros for providing meals to citizens in need, it was announced after the meeting.

The "Help at Home" program is a key tool in this effort. According to data provided by the government, approximately 75,000 citizens benefit from the program on a daily basis, while throughout Greece 210,000 families receive free meals.

A total of 273 municipalities with 3,047 employees participate in the program which has been staffed with an extra 1,200 employees from municipal infrastructures that were shut down due to confinement measures this spring, such as centers for elderly people and nurseries.

Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos visited the Health Center of the Municipality of Nea Smyrni on Tuesday to check the program's progress.

"The municipality had done excellent work with the program 'Help at Home', ensuring that at least 300 people on a daily basis receive food, psychological support and whatever they need to feel safe and cope with this very difficult situation we are facing," he told media.

"This is the compass also for the next day. Once the coronavirus crisis is over the local government should have a stronger, upgraded role in providing healthcare and social services," he said.

"There is a hotline which has been launched for citizens and we receive many calls, because people cannot leave their homes," Evangelia Katsirellou, an employee at the program, explained when speaking to Xinhua.

"We are assisting far more people now than we used to help until recently. The municipality has boosted the 'Help at Home' program with employees from other infrastructures, such as nurseries and centers for elderly people which have closed. Sixteen people have joined four of us who were in the program initially," she said.

Kalyva Zacharoula is a nurse at the program. Compared to two months ago, before the first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in Greece, she has noticed that beneficiaries she knows well for years appear more anxious.

"They are more afraid now. They have all started asking for their medication, they worry that there may be shortages and they will not have them available. Generally, they are asking us 'how are things going on outside', because we are visiting people belonging in vulnerable groups and the elderly who cannot go out. They are afraid and insecure," she told Xinhua.

Margarita, another pensioner living with her sister, who is among the program's beneficiaries, was sinking in fear and despair until receiving a helping hand by the municipality, she said.

"The program is very helpful. In the beginning, it was tough for us until the municipality's employees showed up. Now everything is fine and we are very grateful," she told Xinhua on Tuesday.

Greece is in a nationwide lockdown since March 23 which is due to end on April 27. According to the latest count by the Health Ministry on Tuesday, the total COVID-19 infections in the country now stand at 2,170 and the death toll has climbed to 101.

In the past 24 hours were registered 25 new confirmed cases and two new deaths. (1 euro= 1.1 U.S. dollars)

(CGTN)