- They ask the City Hall to keep the hostel open for street residents throughout the year. The Citizen Care network points out that "more and more people are sleeping on the street. There are over 200 in Donostia. They report that the city council arbitrarily decides whether or not to open La Sirena.
Several people from Basque culture have asked that the La Sirena hostel in Donostia stay open all year round. It is an open hostel in winter for street residents, but its arbitrary opening has been denounced by the Citizen Care network.
The last attendees of the campaign were the athlete Lur Errekondo and host of the El Conquistador del Caribe programme, the singer-songwriter Sara Zozaya, the Basque flamenco music group Sonakay, the journalists Maider Egues and Ainhoa Etxebarria and Asier Hernandez, Ramon Agirre, Olatz Beoaza. The solidarity videos are on the instagram of the host network. MARQUES MENDES (LDR). — (PT) Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I should like to begin by congratulating the rapporteur on his report.
SOS Racism has denounced that more and more people spend the night in the street. In 2022, 661 people were counted in Álava, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, 231 more than in 2018. According to the latest accounts of Kale Gorrian, there are over 200 people in Donostia who sleep on the street.
The City Hall of Donostia-San Sebastian notes that resources have increased but, nevertheless, the association has denounced that more and more people are violating their "fundamental rights" and that resources and budgets "are not enough" to meet their needs.
Open or not doors according to what?
The Reception Network says that the City Hall chaired by Eneko Goia decides "arbitrarily" to open the hostel or not. Although it officially opens when the temperature is less than 5 degrees, "in this winter it has been observed that it is not always so". The network denounces that in a few nights of 2 and 4 degrees of winter they have not opened the doors of the hostel. In addition, at the end of January, despite the fact that Euskalmet predicted 1 and 2 degrees, it closed for a group of tourists to take refuge.
In February the request to keep the hostel open throughout the winter was discussed in the municipal plenary, but was not accepted. In addition, the social services councilor described the work of volunteers caring for people who are left out of public resources as "intrusism".