According to the annual report of the Volunteer Commissioner, which was recently handed over to the President of the Republic, "on the issue of providing food and other basic needs to needy citizens, the Office undertook the coordination of all stakeholders, local authorities, Church and voluntary and non-governmental organizations that support our fellow citizens with food and other goods, resulting in the period June 2014-May 2015 to help a large number of our fellow citizens.
According to official figures, the capital has the highest number of needy families, followed by the rest of the provinces in proportion to population.
In detail and always according to the official data recorded in the Report of the Volunteer Commissioner, in the provinces of Nicosia-Kyrenia, a total of 13 families received food and goods from 5.847 organizations.
In the province of Limassol, nine organizations provided food and others to 1.463 families, in the province of Larnaca 19 organizations provided food and other goods to 1.378 families.
In Paphos, 1.181 families were assisted by five agencies and in Famagusta 763 families were assisted by nine agencies. In total, in Cyprus, 54 organizations provided food and other goods to 10.632 families.
The bodies include the Municipalities, the Local Government, the Church, the Voluntary and Non-Governmental Organizations and these data are a result of the cooperation achieved between all the bodies and the Office of the Volunteer Commissioner.
Also, under the supervision of the Office of the Volunteer Commissioner, the various bodies collected school supplies (school clothes, stationery and school bags for all ages) which were given to needy students.
Measures to prevent double benefits
Last year, as it turns out, came the order in which in previous years and from the day of their appearance operated the social grocery stores and generally the organizations that provided food and other basic necessities to needy families.
The finding that in some cases individuals / families were able to receive assistance from more than one organization, led to the need to create a joint action plan by the organizations. Thus, on the initiative of the Office of the Volunteer Commissioner, a common electronic data entry system was created, among others.
According to the commissioner's report, "for the better coordination of food supply and for the better uniformity of the network of these bodies, the establishment of a unified policy on the issue was promoted by the Office".
Also, in the same context, a “Common Criteria Form” was created for the purposes of determining the beneficiaries as well as the electronic platform - computerized system of unified support management “Assistance” where the cases receiving assistance from the network of institutions are registered to prevent overlaps. and double benefits ".
The purpose of the computer system is "the best coordination and control of the collection and receipt of food. This effort was made in collaboration with the Commissioner for Personal Data Protection, the Pancyprian Voluntary Coordinating Council and the company SK Web Line ltd »
3.000 fewer families after "Arogi"
The "Assistance" system enables "pre-screening of aid applicants". It is detected through the system whether the applicant or his dependent family member is served by another body / organization.
In case it is not already served by another body, then the relevant application is submitted to be completed in order to obtain the necessary information that justifies the provision of assistance.
Then "the Committee of the Institution / Organization meets and decides the approval or rejection of the applicant, given the results of the financial evaluation of the applications based on the income criteria of the Minimum Guaranteed Income".
It is noted that most of the time and "when deemed necessary, assistance is provided based on the criterion of humanity, regardless of whether the income of a family exceeds the EU. Depending on the result, the system is also updated and defined procedures are followed ".
As the report points out, "in any case, the personal data of individuals and their families are secured in accordance with the law on the processing of personal data as amended."
It is emphasized that since the implementation of the "Assistance" system in November 2014, there has been a decrease in the total number of recipients of assistance, mainly in food compared to the previous year. The reduction was about 3.000 families. "
Source: Liberal