HEADING FOR THE HILLS

And the gap grows ever wider.

There was a time when my family faced life on the street. That generation’s world collapsed due to disease and death and my grandmother, her sister and mother were suddenly bereft. They were renting a tiny shop and suddenly had no income. I dwell a great deal on how I would cope with such trauma, with the demeaning, life-breaking battle of survival of anyone forced to survive hour by hour.

The Salvation Army centre was so close to where our daughter, then a student, was living.

A man on the door was handing out blankets to homeless people as they shuffled in carrying their lives on their shoulders. To the right the shower steamed. Ahead a kitchen staffed by volunteers dished out plates of food and hot drinks. The room beyond was packed with people sharing tables, stories, warmth, or sitting in a trance, trying to absorb the warmth and welcome; respite from hunger, fear and stigma.

I was invited in. I drank tea with a retired single man evicted from a private rent because the cost had skyrocketed far beyond his means. No back story of mental breakdown, drug abuse or crime. Just a broken pride in his country and disbelief that it could happen in this age.

London is in dire moral and social straights in many ways, but on the matter of homelessness it is not alone. It is appalling how, due to all manner of reasons, so many people in first world countries are falling through the net. Yes, mental breakdown and drug abuse are consequences of a warped world that is bludgeoning communities into complying with the America model. Me me me…….

Resistance here is strong, but I was stunned, all the same, to read that nearly 7,000 people are living on the streets in Catalonia, according to the Catalan Ombudsman Esther Giménez-Salinas. It is growing fast, not easing, and she is profoundly right, her core role being to ensure everyone’s rights are respected, to call for a national pact on homelessness. She is on a mission and is working with all levels of administration local and national. Vital.

Core data from 2025: 4,290 are living rough individually and 2,434 living in encampments (in 409 municipalities); 87 per cent of people experiencing homelessness are men, while 12 per cent are women. The majority are in their 30s and 40s, with 20 per cent aged 31–40 and 23 per cent aged 41–50. Just over half (3,556 people) are in contact with social services; 44 per cent of municipalities offer residential places; 61 per cent provide hygiene services; 39 per cent offer places to eat; and more than half supply clothes.

Coming together like this is the Catalan way. But it needs more funding, coordination, focus and community. The country must counter this gross indictment of a first world malaise.

Thank you to everyone who is already doing all they can to make a positive difference.

Catalonia Today 11-01-2026, Pàgina 5

THE CATALANS WERE RIGHT  

THE CATALANS WERE RIGHT

© Catalonia Today