Girona has registered 201 homeless people sleeping on the street in the latest night count, compared to the 111 counted in 2024. The increase reaches 81% and confirms a sustained rise from the 86 people detected in 2022 and the sixty or so counted in 2016.
The sharpest jump appears in Eixample Sud, where the number has gone from six to 56 in just one year. The count, moreover, excludes those who spend the night in abandoned warehouses or houses, so the figure only reflects people located outdoors on that specific night.
Eixample Sud concentrated the largest increase in a single year
The variation has not been homogeneous in the city. In Barri Vell-Centre, the number of people sleeping on the street has risen from 24 to 33, while in the Devesa park and Mercadal it has gone from six to 16.
On the other hand, Santa Eugènia and Can Gibert broke this trend and dropped from 29 to 18 people. The homelessness map, therefore, has shifted within Girona while the total number of detected people has increased.
Amy Sabaly, councilor for Equality and Social Justice and Cooperation, explained that the count offers "a snapshot of the homeless people we found on that day and at that hour" and allows for "better sizing of the problem." The councilor added that the increase forces administrations to join forces and work with a single strategy.
"There is a collapse" - Amy Sabaly, councilor for Equality and Social Justice and Cooperation
Sabaly admitted that current resources are limited and placed the phenomenon on a broader scale, defining it as structural at a European level. Her assessment comes after a count that confirms the continued growth of people sleeping outdoors in various parts of the city.
Salt incorporated a count for the first time and located 34 people
For the first time, the operation was also deployed in Salt, where 34 homeless people were counted. The count identified 20 men, eight women, and six people of unknown gender.
The highest concentration appeared in the Pla and Torre Mirona neighborhoods. The ages of the people located ranged from 22 to 67 years.
Natàlia, a technician for Homeless People Assistance at the Red Cross, stated that the count is crucial because there are increasingly more people experiencing homelessness. She also emphasized that it serves to detect where they are and how many there are, with the aim of adjusting services and resources.
From the volunteer team, Salvador Carrera emphasized that the day allows for redrawing the map of homelessness. He also recalled that each person located has a different situation and that, in many cases, they need to talk during the intervention.
The count carried out in Salt located people between 22 and 67 years old in the Pla and Torre Mirona neighborhoods.