Evicted with a child and two people with disabilities in Mataró: "I cannot stay on the street"

BarcelonaWith the country on alert due to the storm and in the midst of negotiations for the housing decree in Madrid, this Tuesday morning in the Cerdanyola neighborhood of Mataró, the harshest face of the housing crisis was experienced once again. A family with a child under ten years old and two people with disabilities was evicted by the Mossos d'Esquadra despite the protests that were called at the door.

Specifically, seven people lived in the apartment: Jordi, who has a rare disease that causes mental health problems and has an 87% disability, and three other siblings. Among the siblings is Alicia, mother of three children, one of them with autism. She herself explained her situation this Monday in a video released by the Socialist Housing Union of Mataró. "I have been living in a rental for eleven years, but as a vulnerable family, my salary is not enough to pay the rent. I cannot end up on the street with a minor child," she denounced.

Pilar Sánchez, from the Mataró Housing Union, stated that the decree that the Spanish government is expected to approve this Tuesday, "even if it is ridiculous," would indeed stop this specific eviction. "It is very serious," she declared, while also saying that pressure must be applied "until the very last moment." Sánchez explained that the family has no alternative housing.

A large police deployment secured the area from 6:30 in the morning and neither those affected nor protesters showed any resistance. The family left with their belongings, withthe exception of the children, who spent the night at a relative's house to avoid experiencing the eviction firsthand.

Failed negotiation

Alicia, the head of the family, explains that the three days in a hostel offered by social services "are not an alternative" and demands that her case be "expedited" at the municipal emergency table to try to find social housing for her and her relatives. "I have been searching, but everything is very expensive and I cannot pay a normal rent," she laments.

The woman details that, through the Mataró City Council, she has tried to negotiate with the owner, a large landlord, to either be granted a social rent or to be able to pay the accumulated debt in installments. None of the options, she asserts, have been accepted by Investmar, the company that manages the property.

The woman explained that for months she had paid only part of the rent because she could not afford the full cost and that this accumulated debt is what has now left her on the street. "I paid less because I didn't have enough to buy food or for school expenses," the woman recounted shortly after being evicted.