The Department of Nursing and Fundació de l’Esperança have renewed their cooperation agreement, reaffirming a decade-long commitment to supporting people at risk of exclusion in the Ciutat Vella district of Barcelona. 

Created in 2016, the Ciutat Vella AIDIR Unit was formed to offer comprehensive care to vulnerable people. Since then, the Unit has provided Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing students the opportunity to actively engage with the neighbourhood’s social reality, integrating their academic education while developing clinical and community competencies and promoting health education among Ciutat Vella residents.

According to Albert Gallart, deputy director of the Department of Nursing at the University and head of the Ciutat Vella AIDIR Unit, “this agreement renews a commitment that transcends academic education. It entails working together with the neighbourhood community to improve people’s health, autonomy and opportunities. For the past ten years, the Ciutat Vella AIDIR Unit has been a space where students can grow both professionally and personally with the help of Fundació de l’Esperança, and where the community can find continuous and close support.”

The renewal of the agreement will make it possible to strengthen and broaden the lines of action pursued over the past decade. Innovative methodologies, including game-based tools and virtual reality resources, will also be used to promote healthy lifestyles among young people in the district.

“The educational and awareness initiatives led by the AIDIR Unit constitute a form of preventive action that has a major impact on the families the Foundation assists,” explains Cristina Segura, director of Fundació de l’Esperança.

In this new stage, both institutions are committed to enhancing the visibility of the work carried out by the Ciutat Vella AIDIR Unit through training workshops and awareness-raising activities designed to extend the project’s impact to more local residents, organisations and educational centres. “This will enable Bachelor's Degree in Nursing students completing their work placement at the AIDIR Unit to deepen their social commitment to the most vulnerable people,” adds Lorena Moya, a lecturer in the Department of Nursing and the nurse who coordinates placements at the Ciutat Vella AIDIR Unit.