The Basque Government has approved a direct subsidy of 777,000 euros for the Donostia City Council, aimed at enhancing the food assistance program for homeless individuals. This funding, to be implemented during the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years, will enable the incorporation of up to 100 new individuals into the Otorduak program. They will receive a complete daily meal, seven days a week, through collaborating hospitality establishments.
The initiative's objective is to address a basic need from a rights-based perspective. It seeks to ensure individuals can exercise their rights in a normalized environment, avoiding stigma and promoting the recognition of their dignity. The meal collection method avoids reliance on improvised street solutions and fosters social inclusion.
The Basque Government's contribution will be additional, temporary, and evaluable, and will not replace the resources the City Council already allocates to its ordinary programs. The new subsidy is exclusively for the 100 new individuals and will not fund the existing 65 places, technical staff, municipal IT system, application assessments, administrative management, or other structural costs. The City Council will retain ownership, management, and follow-up of the intervention.
This action is part of the II Basque Strategy against Severe Residential Exclusion 2024-2028, which promotes homelessness prevention, personalized support, community participation, and enhanced institutional coordination. The Strategy proposes a multidimensional approach to exclusion, linking it with housing, health, employment, and income.
The Otorduak program is part of Donostia's municipal initiatives for individuals experiencing street homelessness and social exclusion. The City Council itself aims to increase the number of daily meals offered. For the Department of Welfare, Youth, and Demographic Challenge, guaranteeing food is crucial but not sufficient to overcome homelessness. Therefore, the aim is for this basic need coverage to be part of a community intervention that facilitates connection with social services, prevents isolation, and avoids the chronicling of exclusion.
The subsidy will be financed from the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years and will be subject to monitoring and evaluation to verify both the coverage achieved and the intervention's outcomes.
