Evicted a settlement in Montjuïc for safety reasons

BarcelonaThe Barcelona City Council evicted a settlement this Friday in the Sants-Montjuïc district where about thirty people, all adults, were sleeping. The Guàrdia Urbana and the Centre d'Urgències i Emergències Socials a Barcelona (CUESB) expelled the occupants from the premises, located at number 56 Josep Carner street, next to the Ronda Litoral and near the Montjuïc Fire Station. According to the municipal government, the action seeks to address "various risk and safety factors" that affected both the homeless and the citizens in the surrounding area.

Councilwoman Marta Villanueva explained that the decision was made to evict the 32 homeless individuals to prevent serious risks to the environment, as well as to "guarantee the correct use of public space," and assured that it was a "necessary intervention." Most likely, the majority of those expelled will move to a new space on the public highway.

According to Guàrdia Urbana reports, the occupied space interfered with vehicle circulation, as the settlement was located at the entrance and exit point of the B-10. The municipal government also defended the eviction on health grounds: people who were detected to have some health problem were sleeping there, which also put the people with whom they shared the space at risk. Furthermore, Villanueva pointed out that 148 incidents have been recorded in this space related to violent crimes, drug use and trafficking, and knife fights. In the latter case, she stressed that there have been 410 more than last year.

Volunteer attention point

Villanueva added that the homeless received prior notice of the eviction and that agents from CUESB opened an attention point during the operation, where those in need could approach voluntarily. Although he assured that "the accompaniment and attention" to those affected "is maintained at all times", only three of the 32 evicted people approached the service agents. "Homeless people are quite reluctant to receive attention", informed Juaní Soriano, territorial head of the entity. Villanueva has called for voluntary engagement with social services to "be able to continue working and accompanying people in situations of homelessness".

A call for the protection of the most vulnerable

Arrels, for its part, has requested a moratorium on evictions of people experiencing homelessness while administrations "do not finally agree on a strategy to address homelessness". The foundation's director, Beatriz Fernández, added that this eviction will not permanently resolve the problem, since, despite the displacement, these people "will be in the same conditions tomorrow".

Arrels recalled that, in recent months, 250 people have been evicted from the Zona Franca, and 50 who lived in La Sagrera, as well as several evictions in places such as El Prat airport, Ciutadella Park, or Estació del Nord. The foundation has emphasized that these people are suffering "more vulnerability" each time, especially with the current climate crisis and extreme heat, which particularly affect the most unprotected groups.