The Catalan government has already relocated 153 people from the B9 prison in Badalona.

BarcelonaThe Catalan government and social organizations continue to relocate the people who were evicted on December 17th from the former B9 high school in Badalona without the City Council, under Mayor Xavier García Albiol, offering them any alternative housing. This Sunday morning, the Department of Social Rights reported that temporary accommodation has been found for another six people, bringing the total number of those rehoused to 153. The Minister of Social Rights and Inclusion, Mònica Martínez Bravo, explained to RAC1 that the government's intention is to continue working with other administrations and social organizations to find dignified solutions for all the particularly vulnerable people who had been sheltering in tents and cardboard boxes under the C-highway bridge. The B9 building had housed around 400 people, but many of them decided to leave the former high school a few days before the police operation to avoid being identified by the officers.

According to data provided by the Generalitat, the department and the entities rehoused 83 people during the first week, and between December 23 and Sant Esteve's Day, on the 26th, they intensified efforts to provide shelter for another 64 people and prevent further displacement. risks to your health due to the recent stormTonight, six more people were rehoused, bringing the total to 153. Councilor Martínez Bravo recalled that, after the evacuation of the high school, the department registered the 150 most vulnerable people. Now they have begun another count "to try to identify those who are most vulnerable, those who need support, and to see how to help as many people as possible." "All possible measures have been activated," she said, and places have been offered "where possible, some outside [the city]." "Our commitment is that those who are residents of Badalona can return. And to work with them on a good inclusion plan," she added. "The operation was a solution to respond to the emergency. The solution will come with a response to a structural problem," such as homelessness, Martínez Bravo emphasized.

I work with social organizations and government agencies

The relocation work, he pointed out, is carried out in conjunction with social organizations. and other administrations, including the Badalona City Council, and denied that these organizations had been "alone" in providing assistance to the people living under a bridge in Badalona after the eviction of the high school. "We have worked with them," the councilor stressed, adding that the Red Cross was able to carry out its assistance program thanks to the collaboration of the Generalitat (Catalan government) and that both, along with Cáritas, set up a shelter in a Badalona church last Sunday, although it ultimately It could not be opened due to opposition from local residents.

Currently, there are still fifty people living in the open under the C-31 motorway bridge. This has been confirmed to ACN by [unclear - possibly "the person"]. Carles Sagués, spokesperson for Badalona AcogeSagués, who lamented that the situation is "completely inhumane," is hopeful that, starting Monday, after the holidays, the authorities will further accelerate efforts to rehouse those still living on the streets. Meanwhile, some volunteers are bringing food and warm clothing to the encampment. In this regard, Martínez Bravo admitted that the situation is complicated. "Addressing homelessness requires structural measures; we can't solve everything in a few days," the minister pointed out, adding that she doesn't rule out the possibility that there will still be people sleeping under the Badalona bridge on New Year's Eve. "We will do everything possible, but it's a mobile population," she added. "That's why we need structural solutions, which we are also promoting, but they won't be immediate. There are thousands of homeless people in Catalonia. It's the harshest face of the housing crisis. But, unfortunately, we won't have a definitive solution in a few days," the minister added.

Pressure on García Albiol

Martínez Bravo has confirmed that she has been in contact with the mayor of Badalona, ​​Xavier García Albiol, in recent days, asking him to "return to the negotiating table and take responsibility for the evicted people." "I am optimistic," the regional minister said. "I see a change in attitude." Martínez Bravo also called for "joint reflection" on what happened in Badalona: "Those who incite hate speech should think twice before speaking," she stressed.