History: Relevant moments

My Arrels

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History

HISTORY
These are the most relevant moments of the path for our organization
1986 Around 30 people from different institutions in Barcelona had been thinking of how to attend to marginalised people without asking for anything in exchange: neither name, nor national identity card, etc. We wanted to consolidate this idea into an 24-hour open service that could provide for 50 people. More than 35 places are considered. An information leaflet is put together with the name: “Centre Obert Arrels”.
	1987 We participated in the creation of Fundació Sant Pere C1aver from which we obtained legal status. Activity started in Centre Obert with 30 volunteers. Service was for 2 hours in the afternoon (4pm-6pm), in a space of 60m2 that included a lounge, a TV set, small kitchen, 1 shower room, cloackroom, and a medicine cabinet. We needed to build up a system to delouse service users. The debate of how to deal with homelessness went on. The need for human relationships was stressed as a key element to attending to homeless people.
1988 The Centre expanded by up to 200m2 by annexing the premises next door: the new living area increased to 80m2 and 4 showers were added. A small team for basic functions was organised and the first worker was contracted. Càritas ceded to us a social worker for four hours a week. We start the informative leaflet “Arrels Informa”. We received our first public subsidy. 1989 The structuring of Hospital and Street Teams began. We registered 11,000 rings to the doorbell of the Centre Obert. A cloakroom service was created to meet a growing demand.
	1990 The reality of the problem became more pressing. The demand for showers grew quickly, and so did the need for social pressure. The number of volunteers fortunately grew as well. The team of contracted staff is reinforced. We start the Refuggee on 12th September, where Mr Pere Barnés passes away suddenly on the 15th.
1991 4 programmes were already working. The Ideari was debated and consensus was reached. 1992 The pre-olympic euphoria allows the creation of a flat for people that work to find a stable exit from homelessness. It worked until 1994 when the residents lose financial independence and required dedication that could not be met. The structure of coordinators for daytimes and teams was started.
1993 The premises for the current open centre and offices in Carrer Riereta and of the Llar Pere Barnés, al carrer Puig i Xoriguer, were purchased. They constituted 2,300m2 in need of restoration. 1994 The Open Centre moved to Carrer Riereta, 24 during a process of adjustment to the situation the organisation. The Centre Obert and Refugi teams are separated and a person was dedicated to internal structure. The foundational statement of the Llar Pere Barnés is written down.
1997 A new management team was formed by 3 volunteers and 3 members of the contracted staff. The deaprtments of Direct Attention, Communication, and Internal Management are created. 1998 Constitution of Arrels Fundació. The first important Christmas campaign was organised with 13,000 information leaflets sent. At that point we had 120 donor members, and we were thinking of increasing the social base to gain greater independence from public administration.
1999 The Refugi Project evolved into the creation of the Access to Housing Programme. There were improvements in organisational structure, internal services and economic stability, aspects which result in better servicces for homeless people. We were convinced that information and the reputation of the organisation facilitated the task of raising awareness and social condemnation of homelessness. 2001 On 22d May “La Troballa", Arrels’ occupational workshop, began to operate. 2003 A social educator moved to coordinate the Street Team.
	2004 Solidaridad 2004 Award. On 8th February we received this prize awarded by the Human Rights Institute of Catalunya. The prize is given to award people or institutions who have stood up for ther fight in defense of human rights in the context of Catalunya.
2005 185 volunteers, 80 people accommodated and 6 rented flats, more than 5,500 people assisted since 1987. The Social Welfare Municipal Council awards Arrels with a second Prize to Media for the booklet “La Casa de la Lluna”, a collection of life stories of a selection of homeless people, published by Cristianisme i Justícia. In the same year, El Periódico de Catalunya gives Arrels the Iniciativa solidària Award. 2006 Volunteers and professionals reflect on the Mission, Vision and Values of Arrels. There is a significant increase in the number of schools visiting Arrels: 2,035 children and teenagers attended our informative talks. 2007 The Llar Pere Barnés, a facility with 30 places intended for people in situations of emergency and for short-term stays is aimed at socially excluded people and was inaugurated on 29th November. Alongside Assis Centre d'Acollida, Companyia de les Filles de la Caritat and Orde Hospitalària de Sant Joan de Déu, we kickstarted Fundació Mambré, in order to open new paths to making work and accommodation available. We inaugurated the blog Des del carrer in the Mapamundi section of El Periódico to raise awareness about homelessness amongst the public. 2008 Arrels attended 1.254 people, 23,7% more than in 2007, one of the most significant increases in recent years. The night of March 12th a nocturnal count of the homeless was carried out in Barcelona, organised by the Foundation "Un Sol Món" of Caixa Catalunya. 950 people were counted sleeping rough. 2009 On the 3rd of September Josep Maria Pañella, one of Arrels' founders, died at the age of 68. We remembered him during the presentation ceremony of the Alfonso Comín International Award, which was awarded to Arrels in recognition of our work. The programme Empreses que donen sostre (Companies which give roofs), an iniciative to carry out projects in collaboration with companies, was started up.