Albiol announces by surprise the start of works for a soup kitchen in Badalona this year

BarcelonaThe mayor of Badalona, Xavier García Albiol, has surprisingly announced a project to create the first municipal soup kitchen that will open in the city. Albiol made this unexpected announcement the same week that the Prosecutor's Office has warned that the council did not comply with its obligation to offer emergency care to those evicted from the old Institut B9, as reported by ARA. In fact, this eviction has been the focus of one of Albiol's few interventions during the debate, in which he once again defended his management.

The works for the new soup kitchen in the city would begin in the second half of this year, according to the calendar presented by Albiol during a special session on homelessness, forced by the opposition. Furthermore, considering that since the beginning of the year at least five people have died on the street in the city, the councilors held a minute of silence. During the session, Albiol avoided direct confrontation with the opposition, which accused him of a lack of involvement with the problems of vulnerable people.

The municipal government of the PP has stated that it is convinced of moving forward with a new municipal shelter that will respond to a different "model" from that of Can Bofí Vell, which closed leaving 45 people on the street. As on other occasions, however, it has not provided any details about this new center: neither where it will be located, nor what budget will be allocated, nor what timeline the council foresees for its implementation. In this regard, the Councilor for Social Services, Eva Guillén, has limited herself to saying that the project will see the light of day "at the opportune moment". The councilor also reiterated that the closure of Can Bofí Vell was due to poor management by left-wing governments and announced that the company managing the service will collect the accumulated debts "before the summer".

Management of the old Institut B9

Even so, opposition groups have continued to demand the reopening of Can Bofí Vell or a similar shelter, as well as a shock plan of preventive measures and attention to homelessness. Guanyem, Comuns, ERC, and the PSC have accused the Popular Party of "criminalizing" vulnerability with their management. During the debate, the government and the opposition have mutually accused each other of "pettiness" for using poverty as a tool for political combat. The mayor, however, has intervened on few occasions.

Albiol took advantage of one of the few interventions he made in the debate to once again defend the management of the eviction from the old Institut B9, after the latest letter from the Prosecutor's Office warning that it had not complied with its obligation to assist the vulnerable people affected. Albiol insisted that shelter was provided to those persons whom the technical services considered vulnerable, a total of 55. He also referred to the current settlement under the C-31 bridge, which this week was temporarily cleared by a cleaning operationthis week was temporarily cleared by a cleaning operation. According to Albiol, the City Council offered them a residential alternative, but the homeless rejected it.