The Arrels foundation reported this morning that the number of people sleeping on the street in Barcelona is a minimum of 1,384, 12% more than a year ago and the highest figure detected so far. The count carried out on the night of the 13th in the 73 neighborhoods of the city confirms this figure, which, according to Arrels, “puts on the table the need for prevention policies and resources that look at the long term and offer stable accommodation alternatives “.
Arrels clarifies that “the result of the count is a minimum figure” because “a significant part of the men and women take refuge in tents and we have not been able to know if there was more than one citizen inside.”
In all the neighborhoods covered by more than 500 volunteers, people were spotted spending the night in the open. The districts with the most homeless people are Ciutat Vella (339) and Eixample (302), which make up 46% of the total, followed by Sants-Montjuïc (209) and Sant Martí (198). Arrels also points out that in areas far from the center, such as Sarrià-Sant Gervasi (78), Gràcia (57) and Sant Andreu (49), an increase in homelessness has been detected.
From Arrels they specify that the 75 citizens who slept in the city hall’s nightclub on the night of Wednesday last week can also be considered homeless, and that in a few days they will return to the streets.
