“Until now, word of mouth worked, we easily got the number of mentors needed to accompany vulnerable young people on their way to emancipation, but since covid no longer, that’s why we had to hire a company that has led to after a communication campaign, we set up several information sessions that lasted for eight weeks and thus in the end we got the hundred necessary volunteers. Now it costs a lot more”, emphasizes Rita Grané, director of Punt de Reférence, an organization specializing in the care of boys and girls under guardianship and ex-guardianship, mostly immigrants, and to a lesser extent, asylum seekers. The situation faced by Punt de Reférence is the same as that suffered by other social organizations, such as Arrels or the Casal dels Infants.
Thanks to having European funds, Punt de Reférence has been able to organize more actions to reach the 100 new mentors it needs every year. “After the pandemic, personal and work situations have become more complex, in addition, it is necessary to have a collective view and it is not easy for citizens to assume long commitments, of at least nine months. On the other hand, because of racist messages and the culture of fear, it is more difficult for people to get involved in projects to support immigrants”, adds Grané.
From the Catalan Federation of Social Volunteering (FCVS), its director, Eulàlia Mas, demands that the administrations consider volunteering a topic of “first magnitude” and that more awareness campaigns be undertaken to seek the complicity of people from all walks of life the ages In the absence of concrete data, Mas senses that there are fewer citizens who dedicate part of their time to some social cause and that they are more fickle. “There is concern in the sector, it is difficult to involve people and retain them”, he points out. But paradoxically, a survey to be published next week indicates that the percentage of people who consider themselves volunteers is 13%, a figure that has not changed much in recent years, adds Mas. The explanation for why there is no decline is that perhaps the public believes that devoting one or two days to supporting an organization is enough.
But he understands that the culture of immediacy, that of “I want everything now”, the bewilderment of a “tired” society, the fact of having to be on several fronts at the same time, and the impact of pandemic, which caused many people to stop collaborating with organizations and now it is not easy to recover them, explain the causes of this demobilization, but that more research should be done.
Foundations with a long history, such as the Casal dels Infants or Arrels, also express their concern. The first was born thanks to the action of a group of citizens who wanted to improve the living conditions of the Raval children, recalls Anna Oró, the director of human resources. “We perceive a gradual decline that already started before covid, but that the pandemic accelerated. In 2014 we had 1,000 volunteers; in 2019, 730, and in 2022, 600. 75.5% are women”, he points out. We must add the 200 to 250 people from universities, schools and institutes who, through internship programs or through other formulas, also collaborate with the Casal every year. Another relevant fact is that young people keep their commitment for less time.
In 2019, more than 57% of the total number of volunteers stayed at the Children’s Home for a minimum of twelve months; in 2022, only 43%. Adrián Pineda, 25 years old, is part of this group. “I’m from Burgos, I was already a volunteer there, and when I arrived in Barcelona I wanted to continue supporting a cause. I searched among several entities and decided on Casal. I started in the summer of 2022. I go there every Friday afternoon to do activities with children aged three to five. It makes me happy to see how they are learning”, comments this computer engineer. He explains that he is the only one in his circle of friends who has gotten involved in a project of this nature. “Some tell me that they would like to, but that…, they either don’t have time or have little work flexibility.”
“Young people can now get involved in different causes and in multiple ways: from home doing activism through social networks, participating in demonstrations, following a lifestyle… It must be taken into account that many of they work and study, the economic issue limits them, they may not be able to dedicate a few hours a week to volunteering”, points out Oró.
“One of our challenges is to determine how we adapt the image of Casal to get closer to young people, volunteering is a valuable source of public awareness, their contribution enriches the response we give and helps us detect needs”, he adds .
Arrels faces the deficit of collaborators, which it also detected during the pandemic. “We had very active elderly people who had been there for many years and who stopped coming, since then we have been trying to recover the places they left empty”, says the director, Ferran Busquets. It was precisely during the months of confinement that María Vidal, a middle-aged lawyer and mother of two, went to Arrels. “I started by handing out food, I immediately got hooked and stayed with it. You become aware of a reality that you previously ignored and, little by little, you become involved. Now I dedicate one afternoon a week to the open center and one morning to go out with the street team to establish links with the citizens who sleep rough”, he sums up.
Like every Friday, María together with another volunteer, Enric Banqué, went around the neighborhood of Gràcia the day before yesterday to contact, chat and find out the needs of the people who have made the street their home. Nelson, a diabetic who has lost part of his feet; Joseph, who requires medical attention for an eye infection; Richard, a great observer who appreciates having someone to fuck her with… María and Enric help them as much as they can.
Arrels is now looking for 500 people to participate, on the 13th, in the night outing dedicated to counting the citizens who spend the night in the open in Barcelona. “In the last count we sweated the bacon to get to this figure, while before it was much easier”, comments Busquets. With various equipment in place, from the day center on Carrer Riereta, to the Zero flats, the Pere Barnés Home or the shop and the occupational workshop, the role of volunteers is very important for the operation of the organization, insists Busquets.
From December 2022, the open center, where luggage, showers and clean clothes are offered, is open 365 days a year, but at weekends they are forced to reduce some services because they have fewer collaborators. Globally, Arrels has gone from 400 volunteers in 2019 to the current 341.
“Their role is fundamental, the homeless men and women appreciate being able to chat with them, they are their friends, perhaps it is the closest relationship they have”, emphasizes Busquets.
Other entities admit that they have also suffered the loss of the complicity of the public, but prefer not to express this publicly. Their priority is to analyze the causes, what motivated the demobilization and what actions need to be taken to recover lost support.
