This area is very marked by the dynamics of the border and a seasonal work activity marked by tourism, so the CONVO subsidy, among others, has served to create street teams to care for homelessness.
Suara Cooperativa has been able to accompany nearly 200 people in itinerant homelessness services in Empordà this 2025, thanks to the CONVO subsidy granted by the Department of Social Rights of the Generalitat of Catalonia.
These have been offered socio-educational care through different services. On the one hand, an itinerant one has been created with street teams to care for homelessness; on the other, a resource with showers and laundry has been offered in Palafrugell (Baix Empordà). This has allowed us to make a continuous evaluation of the people served and proposals for improvements in the services we offer.
The people who have been accompanied in both services are both adults and families with minors in their care who are homeless or at serious risk of social exclusion, which is why they live on the street or in occupied flats, among others.
Most of the attention has been from men
Specifically, the mobile service in Alt Empordà has assisted 145 people, 133 men and 12 women. The capital, Figueres, is where the majority of those assisted were concentrated, a total of 42 men and two women; while in the rest of the Alt Empordà region, with particular attention to the border area, 91 men and 10 women were assisted. Meanwhile, the shower and laundry service in Palafrugell assisted 50 people, 35 men and 15 women.
The mobile service in Alt Empordà, in most cases, and especially in Figueres and Roses, has worked with people sleeping rough on the streets, covered with cardboard or tents, others in shacks without light or water, as well as people sleeping inside cars or camper vans. However, in other municipalities, people have also been found sleeping in empty occupied apartments; on the beach, at the train station or around rivers (under bridges, in riverbeds or esplanades).
Another challenge we had with this subsidy is to be able to implement networking and inter-cooperation with the Alt Empordà Regional Council, Figueres City Council and Palafrugell City Council, as well as other social entities in the area, especially Càritas and the Red Cross. This work has allowed Suara Cooperativa to align itself with the public administration and social entities to walk together in achieving a social transformation that allows us to improve the lives of the people served and the territories where they travel or live.
Border area
This is not the first time that Suara Cooperativa has received aid of this nature. A year earlier, it had already received the CONVO 2024 subsidized action, through which we were able to work in the area and make a diagnosis of its priority areas of intervention.
This led us to define three areas of action. The first of these is Figueres as the regional capital; the second is the border towns of La Jonquera and Portbou, a transit area for people travelling to northern Europe and vice versa; and, finally, Palafrugell (Baix Empordà), where there are situations of chronic homelessness, since the job offer is seasonal, in the summer; while the housing stock is oriented towards tourism.
Increase in homelessness in the Empordà
On November 28, Figures hosted a conference as part of the week of people in a situation of homelessness where it was discussed that the number of people at extreme risk of social exclusion in the Alt Empordà had grown.
In this context, the political scientist and sociologist, Albert Sales, stated that this is due to the high price of housing, job insecurity and that to access certain aid such as the minimum living income or guaranteed income, contributions are required and not everyone has had the opportunity to work regularly.
