The head count carried out on the night of 18 May revealed that 941 people sleep rough in the city’s streets and that a further 1,973 homeless people sleep at social facilities. The data is fundamental in making an accurate analysis and drawing up measures to combat the phenomena. For two hours, from 12 midnight to 2 am, 930 volunteers took to the city streets to carry out the census.

Organisations, City Council and city residents all combined on the night of 18 May to carry out a head count of homeless people in Barcelona. In total, 930 volunteers took part in the census, the first to cover 100% of the city’s streets. Volunteers were divided into 216 groups of between four and six people, with each group combing a specific area in each neighbourhood. During the exercise they took note of different indicators, such as the sex of each person, the number of people in the same place and whether they were accompanied by animals where they slept. The number of people sleeping rough were counted, as were people sleeping at municipal facilities and social entities.

The result of the census showed that 941 people have no choice but to sleep rough in the street, in indoor cashpoints or in the city’s parks. At the same time, 1,973 homeless people were counted sleeping at municipal facilities, social entities, flats with social support services and guest houses.

Mountainous zones and locked parks have been visited over the last few days by special teams with the collaboration of the City Police and the Parks and Gardens department. Two international observers were also present during the meticulous head count in the city. The last census of this type carried out by the Network of Attention to Homeless People (XAPSLL) was in 2011, although the Fundació Arrels carried out another in 2015. The 2011 census found 892 people were sleeping rough, while 1,672 were sleeping at facilities.

The Deputy Mayor for Social Services, Laia Ortiz, underlined that the increase is a concern and so “we need to keep working”.

Nobody sleeping rough

The initiative by the Network of Attention to Homeless People (XAPSLL) aims to provide a snapshot of the situation of the homeless in Barcelona in order to tackle the issue. Barcelona City Council, which forms part of XAPSLL, is drafting an action plan to counter homelessness and an accurate analysis was needed to be able to include future measures in the shock plan to address the issue.

The head count of people sleeping rough in each district was as follows:

Ciutat Vella: 185 people

L’Eixample: 220 people

Sants-Montjuïc: 144 people

Les Corts: 45 people

Sarrià – Sant Gervasi: 58 people

Gràcia: 46 people

Horta-Guinardó: 30 people

Nou Barris: 30 people

Sant Andreu: 18 people

Sant Martí: 135 people

Parks and gardens in the city: 30 people