The National Institute of Statistics (INE) revealed this Tuesday two realities of poverty in Spain. One, the burden of aid falls on private entities. And two, homelessness grew by 22% last year compared to 2020. To that figure we must add the number of those who spend the night on the street: in Barcelona alone at least 1,231, according to the latest count by Arrels Fundació. Because having a roof does not mean having a home. That reflects the INE.
The centers that welcome homeless people served a daily average of 21,684 people in 2022, of which 7,105 were women. Statistics also reveal that social aid and care for poor Spain increasingly relies on private centers, such as foundations, NGOs and non-profit entities that operate thanks to public aid, donations and, above all, the work of volunteers. .
Data confirms this: only 23.7% of the 1,175 shelters, soup kitchens and residences for homeless people were publicly owned. And 76.3%, private, like the aforementioned Arrels Fundació, an unavoidable reference in what some call the fourth world. Its director, Ferran Busquets, repeats an idea a lot against a recurring criticism in some sectors: “If you are so worried about the homeless, take them home.”
He and other activists usually reply that this is not a task for private citizens, but rather the obligation of a State that distributes wealth and channels the use of taxes well. “It is not charity: it is justice.” The proportion between the public and private sectors (although it should be said more supportive or altruistic) is only reversed in care centers for victims of sexist violence (61.2% publicly owned).
Poverty is multifaceted. On another side, immigration, the disproportion is once again striking: only a meager 8.5% of the centers specialized in caring for these people are public, which leaves 91.5% in private hands. The soup kitchens (such as La Terrasseta, run by the non-profit association Rauxa, one of the few that offers dinners in the Catalan capital) served 51,376 services daily.
Among those welcomed (that is, and not beneficiaries, the field hospital of the Santa Anna church in Barcelona calls them) there are more and more people who never imagined having to go to these entities or to the Banc dels Aliments to eat or fill the pantry. The solidarity meals in 2022 were 10.5% more than in 2020. The majority of establishments, much to their regret, have to establish numerus clausus so as not to be overwhelmed.
This is the case, for example, of the Gregal solidarity kitchen, in the Besòs neighborhood, one of the few of its category that remained open in August (when volunteer vacations force many similar initiatives to temporarily close). El Gregal, which receives municipal subsidies, distributes “300 numbers to access the dining room.” It opened in 2013 with the idea of serving meals for one year and has been there for more than ten.
Not all centers do everything. 54.8% try to cover a specific need. The most repeated calls for help are those related to immigration and the request for asylum and international protection (46.7%), as well as drug addiction. The podium of social benefits is made up of information and reception (82.8%), accommodation (76.8%) and care and support (76.5%).
The number of people who worked in institutions such as those already mentioned and many others was 19,967 in 2022. 49.5% of the staff were salaried; 44.6%, voluntary; and 5.9% were religious, subcontracted, interns... Without volunteerism this building would not remain standing. And the metaphor of the building is appropriate because homelessness is one of the main scourges of this kaleidoscopic reality.
In recent years, residences to combat homelessness have also grown: 914 centers in 2022, 15.4% more than in 2020, with 26,690 places (64.2% private). The average number of beds occupied by people over 18 years of age was 21,684, with an average occupancy of 81.2%, which may lead one to believe that if not all the places are occupied, there are too many or there are already more than enough.
All the sources consulted from the third sector agree in answering with a resounding no. Many people do not have access to assistance resources and prefer to sleep on the street due to a multitude of problems, such as not abandoning their pets or not having a place to store their belongings. To the people who sleep on the street, in public and private shelters, we must also add those who live in substandard housing and shanties.
Rosario Uriarte, the coordinator of the Santa Anna field hospital, summarizes well this other truth that does not appear in the statistics. “Once one of our fosters thanked me very profusely for the attention I gave him. 'But I haven't done anything for you yet,' I replied. 'Haven't you done anything? You heard me! He hadn't spoken to anyone in a week,' he answered me, who already thought he was invisible."
