A family from Figueres, made up of a couple and two children aged 8 and 4, denounces a situation of housing emergency and demands an urgent housing solution. According to the mother, they have been living for three years, all four, in a single room at the maternal grandmother's house, in a two-bedroom apartment, and states that the father has been sleeping in the car since January 7.
The woman maintains that cohabitation in the family home has become unsustainable and that the grandmother cannot continue supporting them. She also states that she does not receive aid such as unemployment, guaranteed income, or benefits for the children, beyond 130 euros every six months from Social Security.
"We have been three years the four of us in a room. Me, my husband and my two children" - Mother of the family
"Right now the situation is still harder. My husband sleeps in the car since January 7"
Without access to a rental despite having income
The mother works sporadically as a dog groomer. According to family testimony, the father has secured a permanent contract at Amazon and earns about 1,500 euros a month. Despite this, he states that they cannot rent a home because agencies and landlords require a year of employment history.
The woman states that she has looked for an apartment in Figueres, Vilafant, Fortià and Lladó. According to her account, the cheapest rent she has found is around 690 euros per month and others amount to 790 euros.
"The agencies and the landlords ask us for one year of job seniority to rent to us" - Mother of the family
The family asks for social rent adjusted to their income or, if there are no flats available, temporary accommodation in a hotel until a solution is found. The mother warns that, if she does not find a solution in less than 20 days, the whole family could end up sleeping in the car.
"I don't ask for anything for free. I ask for a social rent that adapts to our income. If there are no available flats, at least let them put us in a hotel temporarily until they find a solution" - Mother of the family
Dealings with social services and petition to the City Council
The family has gone to Figueres City Council and the mother assures that she asked to speak with the mayor, but that she has not received a response. She also maintains that she has been going to social services for three years and that she has requested to enter the housing emergency table.
According to her version, social services informed her that with the father's salary they exceed the economic threshold to access that route, although they indicated that in a week or a week and a half they would call her to check if they meet the requirements. The woman also maintains that she has never had access to municipal social housing.
"I went to Figueres City Council, I asked to speak with the mayor, but I have not received a response, they say they will call me" - Mother of the family
"What I ask for is to enter the housing emergency table. But they tell me that with my husband's salary we exceed the economic threshold" - Mother of the family
A journey marked by housing changes and added difficulties
The last time they had an apartment, according to the mother, was during the pandemic, in a home rented through an agency. Afterwards, always according to her testimony, they went through an apartment from a bank where she obtained a social rent. She assures that she left that home due to intimidations from people in the neighborhood who, she says, wanted to use the property to plant marijuana.
After that stage, the family moved to Huelva, to the mother-in-law's house. Later, the mother states that she spent a month in a hotel with her children before returning to Figueres.
The woman also explains that she was about to be scammed when responding to a fake rental ad on a real estate portal. To this she adds a letter from the Tax Agency for a debt of more than 400 euros for water linked, according to her version, to a home where they no longer resided nor were registered.
"Now a letter from the Tax Agency has arrived to us because there is a debt of more than 400 euros for water" - Mother of the family
Mental health, care of children and support network
The mother states that she suffers from anxiety, agoraphobia and panic attacks, and that she is under mental health follow-up. She adds that she has time limitations to work because she does not have anyone to pick up her children from school.
According to her testimony, the Red Cross helps her especially in the job search. She also indicates that her son attends PACEM and that from there they notified social services due to the lack of housing. She also explains that she has been referred to Caputxins and that Cáritas has offered her an urgent appointment. The family also highlights the support of La Xarxa de l"Alt Empordà with food and Christmas gifts in a year in which they could not buy them.
Warning of protest before social services
The mother assures that she and her children have less than 30 days before they could end up sleeping with the father in the car. She adds that social services warned her that, if the whole family ends up in that situation, they could take the children away from her.
"I have already explained to social services that, if no one helps us, we will all end up sleeping in the car and they have told me that they would take the children from me, if that happens" - Mother of the family
The woman announces that, if by the 20th of this month she does not receive a response, she will set up a tent in front of social services. She summarizes her claim with a direct request for a dignified housing solution for her family and conveys a warning message about low-income families who, without access to social housing or aid, can end up on the street or sleeping in their car.
"If on the 20th of this month I don't have an answer, I will set myself up with a tent in front of social services" - Mother of the family