Homeless organization calls on Barcelona to provide air-conditioned shelters in heatwaves

The Barcelona-based homeless organization La Fundació Arrels (Roots Foundation) has called on the city council to open air-conditioned centres for people on the streets during heatwaves.

“There is a lot of awareness during cold episodes but people who live on the street also suffer a lot from high temperatures, strong sun and dehydration,” said Ferran Busquets, the association’s director.

According to Busquets, these spaces should be spread out through the Catalan capital so homeless people can seek refuge during the hottest hours of the day when temperatures often surpass 30°C.

“Summer is a very  hard time for the homeless,” explained the director. “The best symptom is seeing how we suffer the heatwave and seek the air conditioner or fan at home. A person in the street does not have this possibility.”

Heatwave deaths

Regarding the three fatalities caused by heat-stroke in Barcelona and Tarragona at the beginning of August, Busquets pointed out that “there are no confirmations” but it is probable that these people usually slept in the streets.

“It is sad that a person must die this way for us to be aware of the seriousness of sleeping rough,” he said. “Living on the street is a very critical and serious situation and we must respond,” he added.

“We have to avoid that these people sleep in the streets all through the year. But during the summer, and especially during the heatwaves, we ask that spaces be opened throughout the city so that the homeless can better pass these extreme temperatures,” Busquets concluded. According to the doundation there are more than 3,000 homeless people in the Catalan capital.