Another homeless man dies in Badalona, the fifth this year

BarcelonaFive people living on the streets have died in Badalona this year. According to the Badalona Acull platform, which confirmed the information to ARA, the latest victim was a homeless man. Badalona DailyA 60-year-old man, a resident of Santa Coloma de Gramenet, was found dead on February 15th inside the car where he had been living in the Puigfred neighborhood. According to the platform, which brings together a dozen social organizations in Badalona, ​​the man had been living in a vehicle since December, parked at number 51 Otger Street, in the Puigfred neighborhood, near the Santa Coloma municipal boundary. The only information the city council, led by Mayor Xavier García Albiol, has provided about the case is that he lived in the neighborhood and that there was a restraining order against him from a woman residing in the city. This latest death brings the total to six, including Raúl, Luis, Jordi, and a fourth man who was also living on the streets but has not yet been identified. Just three days ago, the residents of Badalona remembered them in a tribute ceremony in the Plaza de la Vila, where they also took the opportunity to demand the reopening of the municipal shelter. Can Bofí Vell, which closed in April in 2024, leaving the 45 people who were staying there homeless and the city without any emergency residential services. Since then, six homeless people have died in Badalona.

Of all the deaths, Jordi's has been the most devastating for the city, because he belonged to a known family and He ran a butcher shop in the center of Badalona, ​​but due to various circumstances, he ended up on the street after his business went bankrupt and he lost his home. Neighbors found his body on a bench in Elisa Reverter Square, and the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) confirmed that it was a natural death. Jordi was 52 years old, and like most of the homeless people who die, he lost his life prematurely. According to Arrels Fundació, life expectancy on the street is more than 20 years shorter than the general average. Badalona Acull explains that right now, in the city, governed by the PP (People's Party) with an absolute majority, there are no decent support resources—neither a shelter nor a soup kitchen or storage facilities—to accommodate the homeless, although the City Council claims otherwise. "There is neither a shelter nor an emergency center, fundamental things in a city of 200,000 inhabitants," the organization denounces.

B9 Crisis

In April 2025, the last count carried out by social organizations in Badalona detected 110 people sleeping rough, a record number, but this did not take into account the occupants of warehouses or camps, such as the 400 residents in the former B9 high schoolThe group was evicted at the end of last year without any alternative assistance plan in place. After weeks in which around a hundred of these people lived in squalid conditions under the C-31 bridge in tents, and after several failed attempts due to violent reactions from neighbors, the Department of Social Rights and the Red Cross finally rehoused some 150 people in different facilities throughout Catalonia. More than two months later, around 120 remain in shelters, following personalized training and job placement programs, according to sources at the department. Meanwhile, dozens of tents still remain under the highway, occupied by people who, for various reasons, refused the accommodations. Among the reasons for refusing are working in the area or not wanting to lose their belongings or stop earning a living from scrap metal if they move into an apartment or shelter temporarily.

On the other hand, the municipal opposition in Albiol registered a request earlier this week to hold an extraordinary plenary session to address homelessness in Badalona, ​​which should be convened this month. A year ago, the City Council withdrew from the local committee that addresses solutions and coordinates actions.