Cuban mother and her son sleep on the street due to authorities' indifference to the collapse of their home.

A Cuban mother and her son, who suffers from psychiatric disorders, are found sleeping on the street, in front of the indifference of the authorities who have not acted diligently in response to the collapse of their home in the capital municipality of Regla.

This was reported on Thursday on social media by Midiala Ortiz Azcuy, detailing the events that have led her to make such a painful decision, after knocking on the doors of several local authorities in search of a solution.

Faced with their indifference, the mother and her son decided to sleep on the street, choosing for this the doorways of the Cine-Teatro Regla, a building near the municipal government headquarters of Regla, located in front of Parque Guaicanamar.

According to Ortiz Azcuy's account, his mother received authorization in 2013 to build her house and was granted a municipal subsidy for this purpose. "With that famous subsidy, materials started to be purchased. In 2017, the foundation was laid and the blocks were placed around the entire house," explained the affected individual.

However, "the roof never came because an order came down, [indicating] that subsidies were no longer given [for the construction of] roofs."

"In 2023, my mother sadly passed away, and in May of this year, the roof of my house, which was made of wood and in bad condition, fell in," the woman explained, indicating that she immediately went to the municipal housing office to inform them of her situation.

Far from addressing her case, the director explained that she had to "cancel the subsidy because it was in my mother's name." After several meetings without a response from the Housing Director, she informed her that her case had to be processed through the Municipal Administration Council (CAM).

Days later, Ortiz Azcuy received a response from this municipal office, informing him that his home had been admitted as a beneficiary of the 2024 construction plan. However, with three months left until the end of the year, the mother has not received any response regarding her case, nor any subsidy for the installation of a new roof on her house.

"I ended up on the street. [Fortunately], some friends took me in for four months; but currently, I am back on the street with my son Jefferson, who has psychiatric problems. Yesterday we had to sleep on the street because we have nowhere to stay. It's a tough time in my life," said the affected person.

She also explained that on Friday she would address the municipal committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, "summoned by comrade Osmany, vice mayor of construction" to arrange for "a housing technician to evaluate my house, to see in what condition the house was."

Images shared by the complainant in her post show the collapse of the roof of her home, made of woods not suitable for that structure.

"But the situation is that I am still on the street with my son and no solution. Please, share so I can solve my problem," implored the mother, desperate to find a solution that would spare them from the painful situation of helplessness they are facing at this moment.

In the Population and Housing Census of 2012, the last one conducted in Cuba, more than 1,100 people living on the streets were counted. In 2015, that number increased to 1,261, according to data provided by the official body of the CTC union.

In April, the regime admitted that the number of beggars on the island had tripled. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), 3,690 vagrant individuals had been registered in Cuba between 2014 and 2023, according to data from official organizations.

Around the same time, the Cuban opposition figure Silverio Portal recorded a homeless teenager in Havana. In a video shared on his Facebook wall, the former political prisoner showed the sad image of a teenager sleeping in broad daylight on top of some cardboard, in a central area, surrounded by buildings and a park.

At the beginning of the year, young Cubans living in the province of Ciego de Ávila took part in a noble act by delivering food to homeless people, who expressed their gratitude for a gesture that is becoming increasingly common in Cuba.