January 12th was the first anniversary of the launch of the Healthy Homes service of the Getafe City Council, as part of the European project EPIU Getafe Hogares Saludables. During this time, more than 800 families have benefited directly from the service and have been able to receive advice, guidance and improvements in their energy bills, but also on energy supply cuts, social vouchers and intermediation with providers.

The service, which is currently made up of: two project technicians, specialised in the field of energy; a social educator, focused on the development of social care and activities with organisations; project partners; two administrative and management support staff, who respond to the day-to-day needs of the citizens of Getafe in the field of energy and rehabilitation, providing guidance and advice in coordination with the rest of the municipality's services. Hogares Saludables coordinates on a regular basis with up to twenty different municipal services, mainly those linked to citizens such as Social Services, Consumer Affairs, Women or Health, but also with Education, IT or Sustainability, among others. "Our vocation is that of a network, with a clear objective of being efficient and functional with citizens, avoiding a back-and-forth effect between services," they say.

The office, which opened its doors a year ago, has also undergone changes and complex situations, both internal and external, just like the rest of the public: "in situations like the current one, in the midst of an energy war, a supply office is almost a war service that must respond to the public at different levels", says the service coordinator. Thus, at present, the service is mainly provided by appointment, allowing a more efficient and orderly response to citizens, especially in situations of high demand, but "this does not mean that in cases that are necessary and urgent we do not act immediately with the user who requires it", as indicated by the service, "We have had cases of supply cuts that have been resolved in just minutes through mediation with the distributor, or situations of extreme risk that require an effort and rapid response by the service workers, who respond to complex and changing situations on a daily basis," they say.

After this first year of operation, Hogares Saludables has drawn three main conclusions:

• Citizen needs in the field of energy and supplies are very important, even more so due to the international context. The close and personal treatment of people and the presence of the administration in common spaces such as Civic Centres, squares and streets is essential to bring them closer to their neighbours.
• The more than 800 families (around 2,000 residents of the municipality) have benefited, on average, from a 25% reduction in their bills, which means savings of around 20,000€ per month for the citizens of the municipality with an average energy supply bill of 100€ per month.
• The EPIU Healthy Homes project is bringing about a structural change in the way Getafe City Council works and articulates its solutions, in coordination with the project partners, allowing for innovation in processes (new form tools are being developed by the IT department) and generating new synergies with the municipal services that were already developing and working to improve the management and procedures of the local administration.

In short, this first year confirms the validity and the need for a service such as the Healthy Homes service and for projects such as EPIU, which, together with the Public Administration, allow innovation and experimentation in new ways of responding to the needs of citizens.

This project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Urban Innovative Actions Intiative. 
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