Losing one's home is the main reason for living on the streets in Catalonia.

BarcelonaLoss of housing is the main cause of homelessness. Up to 62% of people living on the streets, in substandard housing, or in social hostels have ended up there due to a lack of access to decent housing, ahead of those who have become homeless due to unemployment, addiction, or other circumstances. These are figures presented this Monday by the group of researchers convened by the Committee of Experts for Social Transformation and Innovation (CETIS) to analyze a situation that is "changing, diverse, dynamic, and often invisible," in the words of the group's spokesperson, UPF economist Libertad González. Half of these people (32%) say they found themselves on the street after being evicted, 16% because they were forced out of their apartment when their rental contract expired, and the remaining 14% because their family could no longer afford the rising cost of housing. Compared to Spain as a whole, these figures for Catalonia are almost double, a trend explained by high housing prices, especially in large cities. Beyond housing, job loss is another trigger that leads to being unable to find decent housing. Specifically, 27% of those surveyed cited this cause, a percentage—in this case, identical to that of Spain. Other reasons include problems caused by alcohol, drugs, or gambling (13%), having suffered gender-based violence (6%), hospitalization, or starting over in a new country (around 16%). In the snapshot provided by this data, the Minister of Social Rights and Inclusion, Mònica Martínez Bravo, highlighted that 46% of homeless people are Spanish citizens or citizens of another European Union country. "The equation between homelessness and immigration is broken," he stressed, while also assuring that, although the fight against this crisis falls to the municipalities, "the Generalitat wants to support local authorities to improve their approach."

No counts

While the ultimate goal of analyzing homelessness is to find ways to mitigate this "humanitarian crisis," according to Martínez Bravo, the first major obstacle researchers encounter is... lack of real and reliable dataBecause there is no official census, and many municipalities are not complying with the Catalan government's recommendation to conduct counts and collect data to understand the true extent of the problem.

But even with the lack of data and information on the situation, researchers emphasize that homelessness is no longer just a phenomenon of Barcelona and its metropolitan area, but is spreading throughout Catalonia. "We must set aside stereotypes, because the paths to homelessness are diverse, and these people have experienced many different situations," stressed Albert Sales, head of the social rights and public policy area at the Metrópoli Institute, highlighting the importance of policies that go beyond social services and involve other specialized services, such as mental health and decent, long-term housing.

In this regard, political scientist Alba Lanau, a postdoctoral researcher at UPF, has also pointed out the need to advance prevention policies that support people at risk of losing their homes and help them stay. According to her, one solution would be for government agencies to act as "guarantors for tenants" in case of non-payment, provide subsidies beyond the emergency phase, make more places available in low-threshold centers (with fewer rules), and have "bridges" to facilitate access to supported housing for people with the greatest difficulties to get themselves out and stop conditioning aid "to get along."

Almost half of the homeless population (44%) have been in this situation for more than three years, 28% for between one and three years, and 27% for less than a year. This means that most are already in a chronic situation, from which it is more difficult to escape. It is also difficult for them to find an alternative, because more than half say they lack a social or family network. Six out of ten are housed in shelters or social centers24% live in apartments and 12% live directly in the open air.