On Tuesday, November 12, we will hold a remembrance event for the homeless individuals who have passed away over the past year. Since 2016, we have remembered the 580 homeless people who died in the city of Barcelona and whom we supported through Arrels and other organizations. Living on the streets shortens a person’s life; on average, a homeless person has a life expectancy 25 years shorter than that of the general population living in the city.
Between October 25, 2023, and October 25, 2024, a total of 84 homeless people (11 women and 73 men) have died. We know that 47.8% of these people lived on the street and that 70% died due to health problems. People who live or have lived on the street often have more fragile health and face many difficulties in receiving adequate healthcare.
Every year, we hear of someone who lived on the street and passed away shortly after finding housing. These paradoxical circumstances make us feel powerless and make us realize that sometimes, we are too late. This was the case with Lluís, who, at 92, had just moved into an apartment when he passed away.
We are also concerned about the suicide rate (5.7%) and violent deaths (10%). Bachir, only 29 years old, committed suicide after a difficult migration process, unable to bear the weight of his experiences any longer, leaving the residents of Nou Barris, the neighborhood where he slept, in shock. We also remember Arturs, who was only 18 years old and was murdered while sleeping outdoors. His death is a symptom of the structural neglect of the most vulnerable people.
The stories of Bachir, Lluís, and around eighty others will be remembered in the manifesto agreed upon by twenty Barcelona-based organizations, which we will read on October 30 in a public event at Plaça Nova, in front of the Cathedral, at 6:30 pm. This year, we will have live music from the Liceu Conservatory and the Xamfrà choir. We will read final words in tribute to the people who passed away this past year and who lived or had lived on the street, and we will fill the square with cardboard houses, symbols of the homes they never had.
This year’s event is organized in collaboration with twenty other social organizations that also support homeless people. They are Àmbit Prevenció, Càritas, ABD (Cas Baluard and UTE Primer la Llar), Dit i Fet, Heura, Santa Anna Campaign Hospital, Santa Lluïsa de Marillac, Metzineres, Sant Joan de Déu, the Sant Pere Claver organization, the Projecte Sostre, Suara, Barcelona Actúa, the Gregal soup kitchen, Metzineres, Social Sant Pau Gym, the Moroccan Women’s association, Salut Sense Sostre, Som provisionals and the Little Sisters of the Lamb.
On Wednesday, October 30th at 6:30 p.m, we look forward to seeing you at “Plaça Nova” in Barcelona. In the meantime, we share the event manifesto.
84 homes to Preserve the Memory
Have you ever thought about what it means to have a home? It’s more than just having a roof. It’s privacy, rest, warmth… A place where we can let go and breathe, where we can build our lives and identity.
Tamara did not have a home when she died a few weeks ago. She was lying on a bench in Plaça Catalunya, and it took four hours before anyone noticed she had passed away. Nor did Bachir, who, at only 29, decided to take his own life because the effort required of him had become unbearable.
Susan seemed to have made it, but something went wrong, and she again found herself out in the open, where she passed away. Francisco always slept sitting at the entrance of a parking garage because lying down, he felt more vulnerable. Lluís G., on the other hand, had just begun to live in an apartment when he left us unexpectedly.
Today we remember 84 people who lived or had lived on the streets in Barcelona and who passed away in the last twelve months. They are 11 women and 73 men who, on average, lived 56 years, 25 fewer than the rest of the city’s residents. The oldest was Lluís E., who was 92. Arturs, however, was the youngest and died on the street as a victim of violence. He was only 18 years old.
In the last twelve months, a homeless person has died every four days in Barcelona. Some passed away in solitude, and we learned of their loss through the police. Others felt accompanied by neighbors, hospital staff, and local shopkeepers. Did you know that what Diego loved most when he lived in a center was going out for a walk and having neighbors say ‘hello’? Eugen was always accompanied by Pattua, his inseparable dog. And Dominic, who left us at 44, shared part of his life with us when he felt cared for.
Neighbors, shopkeepers, healthcare personnel, convalescence centers, services, and organizations… Thank you for offering moments of light and support. Thank you for being a home, for keeping the memory of all the people who at some point lived on the street and left us.
In the last eight years, 580 homeless people have died in Barcelona, and we want to make them visible with these little houses of light that today fill the Cathedral square. To remind administrations that living on the street is not normal and that the right to life for many people depends on their actions.
These are 84 homes of light to protect the individual memory of each person who left us and to preserve the collective memory of homelessness in our city. To prevent this from happening again.