The 1970s, a very special baby boom

LleidaThe 1970s were a time of many changes in Catalan society. In this context of political and social liberation, one of the quietest revolutions was that of those families who had a child with a mental disability. Subnormal, retarded, handicapped, disabled, incapacitated, and handicapped. These were times when there were no euphemisms to describe a family burden, not only physical but also emotional. These were times when all those with a mental disability were hidden in their homes, away from the prying eyes and prejudices of a still very immature society.

Until they said enough. "There was a terrible desire for progress," recalls Angelina Roure, a mother who participated in the creation ofLet's go to Mollerussa"We were very young, we wanted change, a moment in which we planted a seed of new perspectives for a more democratic country," describes Roure, who ended up presiding over the association from 2012 to 2021.

The case of Acudam mimics that of a dozen other entities in Ponent that were born practically at the same time. Until then, in the entire Lleida district there were only two locations for people with disabilities: one at the Brothers of Saint John of God center (in Almacelles) and the other at the Aspros Foundation (in Sudanell). Users came from all over Spain, and there were long waiting lists.

What made a handful of distant municipalities (from Solsona to Lleida, passing through Juneda, Mollerussa, Tàrrega, and La Seu d'Urgell) agree to create such similar and practically unprecedented entities almost at the same time?

In all cases, the origin came from the same families. "By chance, the families met and realized the injustice we were suffering," recalls Angelina Roure. It was a clumsy beginning, new entities desperately seeking solutions for a group hidden for too many decades. "We didn't wear shoes or sandals, we walked barefoot!" Roure describes.

Those were the first years of resurgence, severely lacking in public aid. The founders realized they had to figure things out on their own. It's worth noting that social services, understood as a responsibility of the public administration, were relatively recent in Spain, and in those final years of Franco's regime, they were managed directly by Serem (Service for the Recovery and Rehabilitation of the Physically and Mentally Disabled), an agency created by the Spanish government in 1970, derived from ANIC (National Association of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation). It wasn't until the 1978 Constitution that a model for the autonomous state was established, enabling the development of social services in Catalonia and the gradual transfer of their powers.

And in this context, the founding families found unexpected support from civil society. The Alba Association, which is also celebrating its school's 50th anniversary this year, is a clear example of this neighborhood mobilization. "In the 1970s, Targaryen society was very committed, to the point that half of our founding members were people without any family members with disabilities," explains Maite Trepat, director of the Alba Association for thirty years. In fact, the first president of this organization was Josep Maria Prat Esqué, who also had no family members with disabilities.

"This is one of our greatest successes," adds Roure, from Acudam, "before there was a different attitude among citizens, they wanted to change things, they wanted to do justice."

Also in 1975 he began his journey Shalom, the association that was officially established in 1979 and later became the current Ilersis Foundation. Led by fourteen families from Lleida, its objective was to offer employment opportunities to young people with intellectual disabilities. In fact, it was born to continue the La Esperanza center, open since the 1960s and which had been the first special education school in the entire district.

The current president of Ilersis is the former mayor of the city, Antoni Siurana, who is especially linked to the organization and very sensitive to the community. "Lleida experienced a great movement in the 1970s when families began to take out of the home what until then had been a personal shame," recalls Siurana.

Teresa Benet, one of the founders of Shalom, attributes the baby boom These entities are linked to "the great wealth of associations that Catalonia has always had" and the need to provide close attention to the community. "We had to avoid uprooting families; it was a time when we had to establish structures to address rights in each territory," Benet explains.

The Aspros model

Another spark that ignited the Lleida associative boom was the Aspros Foundation. It began its activity in 1962 and became a pioneering entity throughout Spain in the field of direct care for people with intellectual disabilities. Among its founders was the educator Joan Escolar, who was precisely one of the great promoters of the entities that would emerge in the rest of the province ten years later.

This is corroborated by psychologist Josep Maria Solé, who was director of Talma de Juneda for more than thirty years: "Joan Escolar was the instigator, an emissary in Lleida from the central government with extensive experience in setting up support centers and services," Solé says. Escolar, who died in December 2023, was the driving force behind a new philosophy of caring for people. "He was decisive and the main reason we all left at the same time," explains Solé.

The experience at Aspros was crucial in later extending this new approach to the different regions. "People with disabilities were there, they were kept inside the homes, and some did what they could in conventional schools, but the need arose to unite and organize," Solé concludes.

The ecclesiastical umbrella

Alba Franquesa, a Targarian student of Humanities at the UAB, describes in her final degree project that the new entities "emerged during the democratic transition and, previously, it was an area more or less covered by assistance and social action almost always ideologically associated with charity."

In fact, many of the entities of that time emerged under the protection of the Church, which was still very committed to those social activities that the administration ignored. The Olive Tree of Vallbona de las Monjas, which was founded in 1974 as a work center, began its adventure when a group of people, "led by Piarist Father Josep Maria Segura, settled in the town with the idea of creating a community of life and work," explain spokespersons for what is now an organic wine and oil cooperative.

Talma de Juneda, which will also celebrate its half-century of history next year, began its activity under the name Apromi and also has religious origins. It began in some rooms of the so-called Religious School, while the Alba school began with the support of a priest named Josep Garriga and welcomed its first five students in the former classrooms of Carmel.

The series of commemorations by Lleida-based associations will continue next year with the 50th anniversary of Amisol de Solsona and Claror de la Seu d'Urgell, both also linked to these early years of Catholic charity. Amisol did so under the umbrella of Caritas, and its first step was the creation of a Productive Initiation workshop. Solsona City Council provided space in the Piarist building, where it was launched with six users and under the name Nou Camí. Claror de la Seu d'Urgell was founded as a workshop by a group of people from the parish of Sant Ot.

Regarding Aspamios de Torrefarrera (1977), its creation was more the result of the efforts of a single businessman from Lleida. Josep Maria Serveto, founder of a well-known transport company and with a disabled daughter. He was the instigator of an organization that would find in a former convent in Torrefarrera the ideal location to open a residence for people with a severe disability. "Serveto was a very restless person, a creator who, when he had something in mind, wouldn't stop until he achieved it," recalls Pilar Pons, the current manager of what is now a foundation. "It was also created out of the concern and worries of a group of parents who wanted to respond to the shortcomings and needs that were becoming evident," adds Pons.

Unachieved goals

Over the last fifty years, more organizations have been created in Lleida to help people with disabilities. In fact, in 1992, a new organization was established. ALLEM, a federation that unites and coordinates themBut most of its leaders assert that some of the most historic demands remain to be met. One of them is the full integration of the group into society, but the most important is the still limited support from the public administration. "We understand that we are living through very difficult times, but we still face many difficulties in accessing aid," denounces Angelina Roure. "There are still many things stuck, and more sensitivity is needed," adds Teresa Benet. One of the major criticisms is that a large part of the public funds that fuel institutional support come directly from Madrid.