Young people who have been ex-guarded are demanding that Social Rights not return thousands of euros in benefits to them.

BarcelonaStill reeling from the shock, a group of young people who had been placed in care gathered this Monday in front of the Directorate General for the Prevention and Protection of Children and Adolescents (DGPPIA), which replaces the DGAIA, to denounce the "defenselessness" they face due to the claim for the return of thousands of euros for alleged improper payments of benefits. In some cases, this would mean returning more than 36,000 euros..

The kids have already self-managed through a WhatsApp group, which already has around a hundred people, trying to support each other both emotionally and in terms of information, because the letter sent last week is confusing due to the bureaucratic language in which it is written and many are shaken.

"There have been kids with suicidal thoughts after receiving the letter, because paying back such brutal amounts is impossible for young people like us, without resources or a family network, who survive with what they can," warns Laura (fictitious name), one of the spokespersons for the group.

At the rally, which was attended by around ten affected people, the director of the DGPPIA, Josep Muñoz, agreed to meet with two representatives of the group, where he admitted there had been communication errors in the letter and explained that the amounts shown in each letter are not the actual amounts that would have to be repaid, but the actual amount.

"They're throwing stones and hiding their hands," complains Rosa, another of the affected girls, who claims that the department and the DGAPPIA "don't care about the damage caused." On the other hand, Laura responds that if this is the case, "the numbers don't add up" and complains that the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion, headed by Mònica Martínez Bravo, has not explained the details of how its calculations were made.It is not fair that due to an administrative error we must return legally collected benefits.", the spokeswoman said.

Message of reassurance

During the meeting, which lasted less than 15 minutes, Muñoz reassured the young people and asked them to provide all the required documentation so that their files could be reviewed individually. However, the young people also complain that they don't have time to find many of the requested documents in the 10 business days after receiving the email to submit their allegations, partly due to bureaucracy.

A girl whose complaint is about having been outside the state and who must submit a municipal registry report isn't given an appointment by her city council until mid-July. Furthermore, Laura asserts that Social Rights already has much of the documentation because former wards must report and register their employment contracts in order to receive a percentage of their social assistance.

Following the report published by the Court of Auditors detecting 167 million euros of undue benefitsThe Department of Social Rights insists it is reviewing the young people's files to understand the details of each case. Martínez Bravo asserted that the vast majority of the €167 million is due to the guaranteed citizen income, which the government granted amnesty, considering it had made a mistake due to poor management in processing and monitoring payments and in its efforts to avoid further harming the thousands of vulnerable families under scrutiny. For the moment, in the case of former wards, Muñoz has made no mention of proclaiming a new amnesty.