The Minister of Social Rights and Inclusion of the Generalitat, Raúl Moreno, announced this Friday that the Catalan Government will allocate 30 million euros more to combat homelessness in 2027, through the program contract, which represents a 50% increase compared to 2026.
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He said this in statements to the press following a meeting of the Institutional Table for Addressing Homelessness this Friday, in which he also said that they will add 115 new professionals and reach 70 basic social service areas.
Likewise, he highlighted that his Department will launch a call for grants of 10 million euros to municipalities aimed at equipment to address homelessness.
The Ombudswoman of Catalonia, Esther Giménez-Salinas, who chaired the Table, has requested to allocate between 0.15% and 0.20% of the Generalitat’s budget to combat homelessness, which translates to between 70 and 110 million euros.
Sources present at the meeting have stated that during the intervention of the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, at the Table, he denounced that Barcelona allocates 51 million annually, one every week, to emergency accommodations while the Generalitat only allocates 17 million. Collboni protested about bearing alone a challenge that all administrations in Catalonia must face. The mayor emphasized that homelessness must be part of housing policies and supported the processing of a law that provides resources to municipalities to address the problem.
October 23 is the deadline for the entities and institutions represented at the Table to make their contributions and assessments to the document of 35 measures resulting from the meetings held.
That document, which should serve as a basis for a Country Agreement against homelessness, sets the year 2035 as the date by which this problem should have been eradicated in Catalonia.
Among the 35 measures are preserving 10% of places in residential resources for women in street situations, registration as an “essential” procedure, and respect for all homeless people, without distinction.
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Regarding the agreement, he insisted that it is not a letter to the Three Wise Men: “It is an obligation, because when you sign a pact, you have to do it. You will not be able to do it overnight, and that is why the support of all the Generalitat Departments is requested.”
Likewise, he highlighted the importance of territorial equity in the pact, so that all municipalities act in the same line, and of having good data: “To work well you have to know the data, even if they are scary.”
The deputy mayor of Social Rights of Barcelona, Raquel Gil, highlighted that an “ambitious” goal like eradicating homelessness by 2035 must serve as a driver to move quickly.
She said that the contribution document must take into account “the different profiles that exist in homelessness,” and that, after becoming aware of its content this Friday, they will begin to study how it can be translated into reality.
The president of the Taula del Tercer Sector Social de Catalunya, Xavier Trabado, welcomed the proposals made during the Table and insisted on the need to continue promoting the Homelessness Law.
“Beyond the pact, it can be a great help. Formalizing rights through a law seems absolutely fundamental to me and it must also oblige administrations regarding the rights of people in this homelessness situation,” he detailed.
Regarding the amount proposed by the Ombudswoman, he pointed out that current resources are “absolutely insufficient,” and said that the entities had calculated the minimum necessary investment at 100 million annually
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