Around 200 people joined a Cáritas awareness event in Guadalajara focused on homelessness. Residents of the Betania centre took part alongside local school communities, calling for decent housing and work.
Five residents of the Betania centre held up the word HOGAR, made from red-painted cardboard, as students filled it with words describing what home means to them. The installation formed part of a Cáritas flashmob in Guadalajara involving around 200 people.
The event took place in Plaza de Santo Domingo to draw attention to the lives of people without a home. Students and teachers from Santa Anta and Maristas joined Cáritas Diocesana workers and volunteers, along with residents of its Betania centre for people experiencing homelessness.
The message was practical. Betania resident José Antonio read a manifesto saying that exclusion from the streets impoverishes society and that institutions are responsible for ensuring housing that is stable and suitable, and that offers safety. It also described care for vulnerable people as a shared commitment.
The gathering began at 12:00 with the manifesto, at the same time as similar awareness events in other Spanish cities. Attendees then performed a Greek-chorus-style declaration calling for housing and decent work.
Cáritas has also addressed homelessness through accommodation in Huelva, where it opened a refuge described in a report from Huelva. The Guadalajara event focused on awareness and participation by the community.
To close the flashmob, participants wove together a shared representation of a home where everyone could feel they belonged.
