“New social services are needed to close the gap between demand and supply. That is where these illegal places of accommodation appear, and these people commit crimes, including documentary ones, probably for the purpose of property fraud“, said Denitsa Sacheva from GERB in the program “Face to Face“ on bTV.
“Serious abuse of the physical condition of these people, of their identity and of their dignity“, she added.
“In a year and a half, while I was Minister of Social Affairs, the Law on Social Services was adopted. We tried to put order in the provision of social services. Before that, they were only subject to a registration regime. In our time, the conditions for licensing have been created and the process of regulating social services has started“, pointed out Sacheva.
She explained that there was an increasing demand for such services, which necessitated the relevant regulation.
“There are 5,600 people placed in various social services for adults. Those with Alzheimer's alone are about 70,000 people. The waiting list is huge and it is precisely in this niche that they place such types of people who abuse people's vulnerability“, said Denitsa Sacheva.
She asked for new social services and trained people to work there.
“Colleagues from the “Social Assistance“ Agency are working to get people out. Over 70 people have already been accommodated in other social services that have the appropriate license and have passed the relevant inspections“, the GERB MP pointed out.
According to her, there are sufficient funds provided under European funds and programs for the renovation of homes for the elderly and for the construction of new social services.
Over 750 million leva under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan are planned for the construction of 254 social services for people with disabilities
“These funds will be fully implemented in a much longer period – until 2027, some even until 2035. We cannot wait until then for this reform to be completed so that we can use the results. Intermediate solutions must also be found in this transitional period in which to do what is necessary“, Sacheva pointed out.