Arrels' count is stark. In just two years, almost 600 more people are sleeping on the streets of Barcelona. The total is now 1,982, and as the organization's director, Bea Fernández, admitted, this is a conservative estimate, as it only includes what volunteers were able to observe during the last count. This 43% increase in homelessness compared to two years ago doesn't surprise anyone, because we all see how more and more people are sleeping however they can on mattresses or cardboard boxes in the street. It's a true social emergency that cannot be ignored. As a society, we have a problem if we don't take action to provide some kind of solution for this transient population that can't find a place to spend the night. And while the circumstances of homelessness are very diverse, what is clear is that the housing crisis has dramatic consequences for a large part of the most vulnerable population. A few days ago, a study promoted by the Committee of Experts for Social Transformation and Innovation (CETIS) was published, clearly demonstrating this relationship. Sixty-two percent of people living on the streets, in substandard housing, or in social hostels arrived there because they lost their homes, either because they couldn't afford the rent or because they were evicted. This is far more than the number who arrived because they lost their jobs—in fact, some homeless people do have jobs, but they don't bother to rent even a room—or due to addiction or other circumstances. The profile of the homeless is changing, and in addition to the well-known circumstances—addictions, mental illness, or others—there are now those who simply have nowhere to live because the market has forced them out. The organization also highlights that the fact that there have been several mass evictions in settlements where many people lived has contributed to increasing the number of people dispersed throughout the city, which could also explain, perhaps, the increase in people simply pitching tents wherever they can.

In the last two years, the number of people sleeping on the streets of Barcelona has increased. has grown by 43%The 600 volunteers from Arrels Fundació who last week made a The count across the city has tallied 1,982 people who spent the night sleeping rough on cardboard or mattresses in a square, under a doorway, or in a corner of a garden. The figure is "a minimum," admits the organization's director, Bea Fernández, since it doesn't include residents in closed settlements, occupied warehouses, or those staying at the winter shelter, which has 100 beds. In addition, 63 people were located around the terminals at El Prat Airport. "Only the people we saw were included, not those we didn't see," said Fernández, who called for "more coordination" between administrations and departments to provide better assistance. Beyond the data, which reaffirms that homelessness is a growing crisis, Fernández emphasized that only the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi district shows a reduction in the number of homeless people identified. In the other districts, there are considerable increases, such as in Sants-Montjuïc, where 489 people sleep on the streets, 134% more than in the December 2024 count. This district now has the highest number of people experiencing homelessness, followed by Eixample, with 389 people (29% more than two years ago). The new development in the distribution is that Ciutat Vella is no longer the district with the highest concentration of people living on the streets, although it is not immune to the general increase: 372 people now compared to 337 counted two years ago. Sant Martí has also seen a considerable increase of 70%: 335 people are living on the streets. According to Fernández, this new human geography of homelessness "is not accidental," since it is partly explained by the evictions of settlements that have taken place since the summer, forcing those who were living there to move to "less central" areas of the city. Thus, Arrels has found people sleeping in neighborhoods they had never seen before. This relocation is not without its consequences; as the director of Arrels pointed out, it causes "overstress" for those affected, exacerbating physical or psychological illnesses and creating emotional distress associated with the loss of ties to the community, neighbors, and familiar food and resources.

With the aim of counting the number of people sleeping rough in Barcelona, ​​more than 600 volunteers from Arrels Fundació were deployed across all the city's districts on Wednesday night in groups of 15, equipped with pens, paper, and a map of their assigned area. For each person located, they marked a cross on the map and recorded an entry in the app the organization created for that day. Although the results won't be available for a few days, once any duplications have been eliminated, no one at the leading organization for homelessness relief is doubtful that they will have reached a significant number of people. will exceed the figure of 1,384 people from the last count, two years ago. In fact, this year, the Barcelona City Council estimates that there are 1,500, not counting those who have a roof over their heads in a shelter, social hostel or emergency shelter"This year the data will be dramatic," predicts José Luis, one of the volunteers.

A remembrance for Mouad, Evgenio, Josep Maria, and Brigitte. These are some of the names of the 69 homeless people who have died in the last year in Barcelona, and whom social organizations honored with a moving ceremony in front of the cathedral, as they do every year around All Saints' Day. More than 600 homeless people—who lived on the streets, in boarding houses, or in other social services, all forms of homelessness—have died in the city of Barcelona since 2016.

HeBarcelona Urban Guard agent who fired a shot in 2020 A homeless man who was walking along Passeig de Sant Joan with a knife in his hand has been acquitted without ever having to go to trial. The judges of the Second Section of the Barcelona Court of Appeals have dismissed the Arrels Foundation from the case at the last minute. This has overturned the only remaining accusation against the officer, as the Prosecutor's Office did not accuse him of any crime, and the victim's lawyer was also dismissed because the man who lived on the streets, Marjan, has been untraceable for years.

While speaking, she is talking, despite having one of the fans strategically placed near the Arrels Foundation hall in Barcelona's Raval district, trying to cool down the heatwave. Luana Monteiro answers the survey questions that the leading homeless organization has prepared to understand the problems faced by the thousand or so people who survive on the city's streets. Like the majority of this group, (six out of ten)Monteiro didn't know what it was like to be left out in the cold until she arrived from Lisbon to Barcelona. She says she was fleeing a society's incomprehension of people like her who were different. As soon as she could, Monteiro changed the word to a song, like the one she composed in memory of her. Sonia Rescalvo, a trans woman like her, murdered in Ciutadella Park three decades ago.I never go to shelters, I prefer the street because I was raped there and they don't let me in with my dogs either," he says.

A piece of cardboard, white blankets, and a candle extinguished by the wind and rain remain in front of a bank branch in downtown Barcelona, ​​located right at the intersection of Via Augusta and Travessera de Gràcia. Until this Wednesday, Juan, a homeless man, rested every day. He was 49 years old and, according to people who knew him, had been sleeping on the streets for several years. According to ARA, Juan died Wednesday afternoon in these covered basements. The cause of death was cardiorespiratory arrest, and sources familiar with his situation indicate that he was in poor health, particularly his respiratory system. It was a cold and rainy day in Barcelona.

At least 1,231 people live on the street in Barcelona. This is the count made by Arrels Foundation on June 15, combing the city street by street with 522 volunteers who surveyed 354 homeless people. The organisation says it is a "minimum figure", because they may not have detected them all, although it nevertheless means a 15.7% increase compared to the number of people they detected a year ago. But with a more retrospective look, the data is even more frightening: in 2008 there were 658 people living on the street, according to Arrels, that is, the number of homeless people in Barcelona has grown by 87% in 14 years: it has almost doubled. "More and more people are forced to live on the streets," Arrels says, which calls for more welfare services and more public policies to address homelessness