'I try to stay strong': A day in the life of a homeless person in Barcelona

Despite having worked all his life, 60-year-old Tiziano experienced a drastic change in circumstances and now lives on the streets of Barcelona.

“I try to stay strong,” he tells the Catalan News Agency (ACN) as he walks us through a day in his life. “My routine is walking a lot,” he adds.

Every day, Tiziano covers at least 15 kilometers across the city. His mornings begin early at Estació del Nord, where he spends the night, and he doesn’t return until nightfall.

For Tiziano and the others who sleep at the station, the day starts with the rumble of buses and the bustle of commuters.

He buys a newspaper for a colleague with reduced mobility, shoulders his backpack filled with basic belongings, and begins his long walk.

Throughout the day, he relies on services such as the Arrels Foundation, soup kitchens, and the Santa Anna parish to get by.

Still, he hopes his time on the streets will be “transient,” though he admits it is far from easy.

“I am dead inside,” he confesses. The psychological burden of homelessness is “hard,” he says, especially when he feels “of no more use to society.”

For him, the Arrels Foundation has been a lifeline. “They saved my life,” he says, because there he can leave his suitcase, take a shower, charge his phone, and, most importantly, feel accompanied.

“A good word said at the right moment is sometimes very comforting,” he adds.

Faced with the reality of homelessness, the Arrels Foundation calls for a more balanced distribution of resources across the city, which could ease the “overload” in the center.

“No one recognizes them as people,” explains Fátima Sánchez from Arrels. She argues that every district in Barcelona should have at least one shelter to prevent overconcentration in certain neighborhoods and to allow public services to respond more effectively.

According to Sánchez, the deeper issue is society’s growing indifference: the city has become used to seeing people sleep on the streets. “No one cares, and no one looks at them,” she warns.

The Arrels Foundation also denounces that it is difficult for homeless people to maintain a routine, as very rarely are all their basic needs met.

Without money or proper documentation, they cannot easily use public transport. Even when they can, “they feel judged,” because public spaces “are not kind to them.”

Sánchez explains that in the city there are only two public, free luggage storage facilities available to them. This forces many to carry all their belongings with them while walking to access essential services like food or showers.

“A lot of people have to keep their belongings where they sleep, even in the sewer,” she adds.

On many occasions, Sánchez says, local police “expel them” from places where they sleep, forcing them to “move constantly.”

Often, the weight of adversity makes them give up. “They get tired of walking, they can’t bear it anymore, and end up believing it’s useless to fight for their rights,” Sánchez concludes.