Burgas Municipality Applies for a Project for a Social Services Center for Elderly People with Dementia

Burgas Municipality proposes to apply for the “Beautiful Bulgaria” project to create a Center for Social and Health Services for users of the Home Social Patronage. The report with the proposal has been submitted for consideration at the upcoming session of the Municipal Council.

Currently, the Home Social Patronage in Burgas serves 3700 users – elderly people, children and people with disabilities. A significant part of the elderly users are people with dementia, and their number is progressively increasing. In response to this trend, in 2024 the social garden for elderly people “Grizhovnik” was launched, which provides all-day care for people over 50 years of age with varying degrees of dementia.

The accumulated experience shows a significant improvement in the physical and mental condition of the users thanks to the active work of psychologists, rehabilitation specialists and other specialists. The creation of a new Center will upgrade the existing services and will provide a wider scope and more diverse activities for the elderly.

To implement the project, the basement floor of the Home Social Patronage building, located at 20 Ivan Bogorov Str. in Burgas, has been identified. The space has one large and 14 smaller rooms, as well as areas for sanitary facilities and an elevator. Currently, it is structurally and functionally compromised and unusable, as no repair work has been carried out in it since 1998.

After performing the necessary construction and repair works, the new center will be able to serve about 100 users daily during the working week (from 08:00 to 17:00). It is planned to set up a medical office for screening and prevention of dementia, rooms for rehabilitation, ergotherapy, music therapy and art therapy, a beauty room, a training hall and a hall for events, as well as ensuring an accessible environment through an elevator.

According to the terms of the “Beautiful Bulgaria” program, Burgas Municipality should provide co-financing in the amount of up to 52% of the value, which will be included in the municipal budget.

The implementation of the project will contribute to a significant improvement of the social infrastructure in Burgas, to improving the quality of life of the elderly and to supporting their families, while protecting an important public interest related to the health and dignity of vulnerable groups.