Four hours combing the streets of Barcelona to find out how many people sleep rough

BarcelonaWith the aim of counting the number of people sleeping rough in Barcelona, ​​nearly 600 volunteers from Arrels Fundació were deployed across all the city's districts last night and into the early hours of Wednesday morning in groups of 15, equipped with pens, paper, and maps of their assigned areas. For each person located, they marked a cross on the map and entered an entry into the application that the organization had launched for that day. Although the results won't be available for a few days, once any duplications have been eliminated, no one at this leading organization dedicated to helping the homeless 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 already 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 Luís, one of the volunteers.

ARA accompanies a team of four volunteers through the Sagrera neighborhood on a night when the December temperature is already noticeable, but not yet low enough for the Barcelona City Council to activate Operation Winter, which is triggered when temperatures drop below 5 degrees Celsius. cardboard boxes or sleeping bags They are like a thin layer through which the cold and damp penetrate the bodies of those trying to rest in the open without any other shelter. The only instruction given at the starting point of this particular route is not to disturb these people, nor "invade their privacy," explains Bea Fernández, president of Arrels. The count is a census with the threefold objective of obtaining an up-to-date snapshot of the phenomenon of homelessness is on the rise And it extends beyond the metropolitan area, assessing the resources needed and raising public awareness of the problem, Fernández explained before the activity began. Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., volunteers will walk and examine gardens, squares, and streets.

The count comes just a few weeks after a scare in this Sagrera neighborhood in one of the informal settlements that had sprung up right under the Calatrava bridge. A fire destroyed several shacks in the early hours of November 19, and the city council issued the order to evacuate the entire village and thus leaving around thirty residents without a roof over their heads. Far from disappearing, these people are looking for new places to settle, and Fernández points out that the count should also serve to determine if these "movements" have led these people to relocate to neighborhoods that previously had no experience with homelessness.

Under cover

From their post in La Sagrera, the 15 volunteers spread out across their assigned areas. Less than five minutes before starting their walk along the Meridiana Avenue, which is under construction, they find their first person sleeping inside an ATM. A few meters away, they spot four more in a kind of covered shopping arcade, where some are sleeping wrapped from head to toe in heavy blankets, the kind that were popular in homes before the arrival of light duvets. Another man, also alone, is distracted watching videos on his phone, ignoring the strange group standing in front of him. "I know this one," one of the volunteers remarks when he sees a homeless person. He saw him earlier that afternoon while waiting for his phone battery to be charged at a shop. "Most of them make sure to leave everything clean in the morning so that neither neighbors nor shopkeepers complain and kick them out," the volunteers explain.

In the gardens next to the Hipercor supermarket, officially called Place de la Concorde, the surrounding bars are quite busy with diners. Right in the center are three cardboard boxes, side by side, where two men are sleeping or resting under the weight of blankets, while a third stands a few meters away. In one corner, a shopping cart is full of belongings.

At one point on the route, the volunteers are faced with the question of whether a man sitting on a bench might be homeless or a neighbor having one last cigarette before heading home. "Should we ask him?" they wonder, but after discussing it, they conclude it's best not to, and they don't include him in their count. More questions will arise. "Perhaps it's too early, and some people are waiting for the streets to quiet down before going to their spot to rest," they suggest.