They have been at it for over five years, assisting dozens of people living on the streets. Yet the city authorities are displeased with this kind of compassion.
For the past five years, a team of young Catholic volunteers has spent their nights walking through Barcelona's streets, providing assistance to the many individuals experiencing homelessness who prefer sleeping outdoors in the Catalan capital.
More than 100 volunteers from the civic organization "Youth of Saint Joseph" coordinate their efforts to help anyone trapped in this marginalized existence. They distribute food, offer genuine listening and conversation, and show interest in their families—in short, they provide abundant compassion. These young people from Barcelona respond to Christ's calling: "Whatever you do for one of the least of these, you do for Me."
What makes their work remarkable is that they perform this service without receiving a single euro from government agencies, and without broadcasting their actions like many "professional charity workers" do.
Municipal Authorities Express Disapproval
However, the Barcelona city administration, led by mayor Xavier Trias, appears less than pleased with this grassroots civic initiative emerging from Barcelona's civil society.
"We would continue our quiet work, because silence is also part of our approach. But now we're causing problems," explains Marcos Vera, president of the Youth of Saint Joseph association. "The Barcelona City Council wants us to stop our street work because, as we were informed, 'we project a negative image of the city.'"
Pressure to Abandon Street Outreach
"During an initial meeting, the City Council praised the excellent social work we perform, which we appreciate. But they suggested that 'we should aim for more efficient work.' Curiously, at no point did they ask us to explain what we do or how we manage our operations," Vera notes.
"Ultimately, they implied we should cease helping homeless individuals on the streets," emphasizes Marcos Vera. "They clarified that the City Council hasn't taken action yet, but if we continue this work, they will. We still don't know if we'll face fines for assisting those most in need, simply for doing so in public spaces. We don't know if law enforcement will arrest us for helping or disperse us with rubber bullets. However, what we do know is this: the Barcelona City Council will take measures to prevent us from continuing this work."
Shifting Arguments from Municipal Officials
"Recently, we were summoned again, but this time they changed their reasoning. Now it's no longer about negative image. The issue is human dignity. It's supposedly undignified to feed people on the streets. In all streets? you might wonder. Actually, no—it's only undignified to feed homeless individuals in Plaza Catalunya, Las Ramblas, or Sants. However, feeding someone sleeping in an ATM vestibule isn't considered undignified."
"They offer us collaboration with the City Council and Caritas, suggesting we would be more effective, and that's certainly true. But they must understand that they cannot suppress grassroots initiatives with the argument: 'What you're doing is nothing compared to what these organizations do, so you might as well stop.'"
"Allow Us to Continue Our Work"
"All we request is permission to help as we choose, as we know how, as we understand we should—at our level. Is that asking too much? Is it excessive to request that we and other associations each be allowed to work in our own style? Who knows if one of these small associations might become something as significant as Caritas or, why not, even larger. We ask for respect for small organizations. We don't think it's right for all assistance to be monopolized by a limited number of large corporations."
Source: Religión en Libertad
2 Comments
If the State of Autonomies disappeared from Spain, all these problems and many more would vanish.
Caritas has aid cuts precisely when they're most needed, these Youth of Saint Joseph are essentially told they're in the way, and do you know who receives a prize in Europe? The Anti-Evictions Platform—because nothing works better than harassing politicians at their homes to get their recognition. Then another Tony Blair will come along saying Europe has a problem that...incidentally, they themselves created. Time will tell. For the record, I oppose evictions, although I don't approve of certain actions, however deserved they may be for our politicians.