Social assistance aims to improve people's living conditions.
Assistance is a concept with multiple uses. In this case, we are interested in highlighting its meaning as help , support or assistance that is provided to those who need it.
Social , for its part, is an adjective that refers to what is linked to society . This last term (society), on the other hand, refers to the set of people who share a culture and other traits and who interact within a community.
The notion of social assistance , therefore, is associated with a service that is provided to solve problems of various kinds and improve people's living conditions .
Objectives of social assistance
The objective of social assistance is that all members of a society enjoy the same rights and opportunities. As inequalities exist in every community, social assistance is aimed at the most disadvantaged. Its work is aimed at ensuring that all individuals can satisfy their basic needs .
Typically, social assistance is developed through State institutions or non-governmental organizations ( NGOs ). The benefits included in the concept can be very varied and include everything from educational support to the provision of housing, including the delivery of food or medicine.
Sometimes, social assistance is provided by non-governmental organizations or civil associations.
A help
Sometimes, it is the person who needs help who approaches an entity dedicated to social assistance and asks for what they require. On other occasions, social assistance organizations move to the specific location where people in need are located. Even social assistance can be developed in a concentrated way in the event of a catastrophe , such as a flood or an earthquake .
Depending on the country, the concept of social assistance presents notable differences with that of social insurance , a regime based on the contributions of its affiliates, since it is a regime that is financed from taxes from the national population. A clear example of this is found in the Scandinavian countries; There, the elderly inhabitants were the first to enjoy its benefits, which soon reached those who suffered from a disability or illness, and those who did not have jobs or housing.
Features of social assistance
Broadly speaking, it is possible to find the following characteristics in the social assistance service:
* the benefits it offers to the town are financed entirely through contributions from the inhabitants, whether at the national or local level;
* when a person expresses their need to receive social assistance (carrying out the relevant procedures, which vary in each country) the State has the obligation to provide the service, since it has the force of law and is a legal right of all citizens;
* When faced with a request from a citizen, various variables of their situation are evaluated, such as their income, their resources and belongings, and the state of need for the services they are requesting;
* Social assistance benefits have the objective of increasing the income of those who receive them to the point that is considered minimum to lead a healthy life and be able to develop in society. To find this value, the number of family members and obligations such as the payment of rent are taken into account;
* There is no relationship between a beneficiary 's benefits and his or her previous earnings or the standard of living he or she has had, since a balance of opportunities for all is sought;
* It is possible to exercise a certain degree of discretion when setting the amount of benefits, always respecting the limits that arise from the rights recognized by law.