Entities and Government rehouse 52 of those evicted from the B9 in Badalona
Police have evicted a group that was trying to occupy another school in Badalona.
BarcelonaThe Department of Social Rights and the social organizations that have been supporting the nearly one hundred migrants evicted from the former B9 high school in Badalona have been able to find accommodation for a significant number of those affected. According to Cáritas Diocesana de Barcelona, a total of 52 people have been able to access various residential resources provided by these organizations. Many had spent almost a week sleeping rough, in tents under the C-31 highway bridge, or at the Can Bofí Vell municipal shelter, which Mayor Xavier García Albiol closed almost two years ago in the Montigalà neighborhood.
"Due to pressure from some residents of the neighborhood where the Parish of Our Lady of Montserrat in Badalona is located, the violation of the right to shelter in one's own space, and with the desire to avoid causing further suffering to members of the parish community, it has been decided to suspend the placement of 15 people who were evicted from the B9 Institute in Badalona at the parish," Cáritas reported in a statement.
Thus, these fifteen people—in a particularly vulnerable situation—and another 37 evicted from the B9, some of whom spent several nights sleeping under the bridge, have been transferred to different accommodations, the type and location of which have not been specified. "The priority of the organizations remains to guarantee the safety, dignity, and privacy of all those affected," they stated in the press release. They added: "The alliance of the three entities has been working intensively these past few days, with the support of the Christian community of Badalona, in search of temporary alternatives for some of the evicted people."
The comprehensive Bishop Carrera project, comprised of Sant Joan de Déu Social Services, the Roca i Pi Legacy Foundation, and Cáritas Diocesana de Barcelona, had entrusted the management of the emergency shelter at the Parish of Our Lady of Montserrat to the Red Cross and had the financial support of the Department of Social Rights and Inclusion of the Generalitat of Catalonia. Over the weekend, an agreement between government agencies and social organizations made it possible to provide assistance to about fifteen of those evicted, but dozens of neighbors prevented it.
Attempted occupation at another center
On Tuesday, police evicted a group of residents from the former B9 high school in Badalona after they attempted to occupy another disused educational building in the city. According to police sources, neighbors alerted authorities to the attempted occupation, and the city's Guardia Urbana (municipal police), along with a public order unit from the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police), carried out the eviction. Because the occupation had only occurred a few minutes earlier, police intervened. The former high school is located on Avenida Mónaco in Badalona, on the border with Santa Coloma de Gramenet.
In total, around sixty people have been evicted, including former residents of the B9 building and some activists. The police operation proceeded without major incident, according to the same sources.