Arrels is a private foundation dedicated to helping homeless people in the city of Barcelona.
Arrels, which means “roots” in Catalan, was born in 1987 with the main goal to facilitate the holistic development of people who have been socially excluded, and more specifically of those in critical stages of homelessness. Throughout all of the Foundation’s existence we have come in contact with over 7,500 people.
Our staff is currently composed of 54 professionals, 221 volunteers and 3,752 members and contributors who make the intervention programmes that we run all possible. In 2011 alone, we attended to a total of 1,126 people and provided permanent accommodation to 200 individuals. We offer a “Centre Obert” (Walk-in Centre) in Barcelona’s Raval neighbourhood, 19 supervised flats, and 33 permanent places in the Pere Barnés Home which we inaugurated on 29th November 2007.
Our mission
• To support homeless people in chronic stages of exclusion by allowing them to develop as much independence as possible; • To raise awareness among the general public on poverty issues that affect our society; • To denounce unfair situations and propose solutions to tackle poverty and homelessness to government officials and civil society.
Our vision
We wish to elaborate a detailed working model based on our knowledge and experience in providing personalized treatment and working in close proximity to homeless people, that will become:
• a reference model for working with the homeless; • an instrument for social change through the commitment of individuals and communities.
Our Values
• Volunteer work, free-of-charge services, generosity, availability and teamwork; • Personalized approach, work that is adapted according to the individual’s needs, demands and capabilities; •Respect of the person, of his or her way of life, life story, pace, personal process, and decisions; • Being with is more important than "to doing things".
Ultimately, we aim to:
• DIGNIFY the lives of homeless people, from recognizing their personal autonomy to them recovering their rights and responsibilities;
• restore AUTONOMY, understood as the capacity of a person to choose and make decisions as independently as possible, without conditions or dependencies from third parties.
Legal status:
Arrels holds the status of Private Charitable Foundation Providing Special Care since May 8, 1998.
Financial resources
Our work is mostly made possible thanks to private donations (53%) and government support (34%), but we also wish to highlight the fact that 8% of our income comes directly from our clients themselves who, in a step in becoming responsible for their own personal improvement, pay part of their accommodation fees. 49% of the Foundation’s expenses goes to permanent housing.
With these words, Henri Bergson, a French philosopher and writer, had found the balance between action and thought. And precisely on the basis of this equilibrium we pursue a two-fold objective: to assist homeless people in all their human complexity, and to raise people’s awareness of existing poverty in our own environment. To attain this two-fold objective, Arrels relies on a team 54 on-staff professionals and 221 volunteers organised as follows:
Arrels currently relies on 221 volunteers participating in the following areas of work:
Walk-In Centre
Residences
Management
Flats
Street Team
Computing
Hospital Team
Maintenance
Volunteer _Adelina Cardona
Des dels seus inicis l'any 1987 i posteriorment en la reformulació de l'entitat l'any 1998, es va optar per la forma jurídica de Fundació a fi de mantenir les persones en situació d'exclusió com a principals beneficiàries de la missió d'Arrels. Algunes de les funcions més significatives del nostre Patronat són, entre d'altres, vetllar pel compliment de l'Ideari, decidir les línies estratègiques de l'entitat a llarg termini, fixar els pricipis de funcionament d'Arrels en els seus diferents àmbits d'actuació i marcar els criteris de denúcia social que hem de fer com a entitat.
Membres del Patronat:
President_Santiago Ramentol Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2011. Professor titular de Comunicació Científica a la UAB, Conseller del Consell de la Informació de Catalunya i conseller secretari del Consell de l'Audiovisual de Catalunya.
Secretari_Josep Miquel Esteban Font
Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2011. Jesuïta i ex-voluntari de l'Equip de Carrer i de l’Equip Directiu d’Arrels. Rector de la Parròquia Mare de Déu de Bellvitge.
Vocal_Mercè Darnell Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2012. Responsable de Programes i Serveis de Càritas Diocesana de Barcelona.
Vocal_ Joaquim Pons Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2009. Jesuïta. Director de la Fundació Migrastudium i President de la Fundació Banc de Recursos. Enginyer tècnic agrícola. Teòleg i ediucador social.
Vocal_ Albert Recio Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2011. Doctor en Economia i professor del Departament d’Economia Aplicada de la UAB.
Vocal_Anna Saumoy Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2011. Va formar part del Patronat de l’entitat fins l’any 2002, ha estat voluntària i professional d’Arrels.
Vocal_ Roger Torres Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2011. Jesuïta. Professor de l’Escola Joan XXIII. Director de l’àmbit de lleure i infància de la Fundació la Vinya.
Vocal_Agnès Marquès Al Patronat d’Arrels des del 2013. Periodista al Telenotícies de TV3.
Our collaborators
Company Collaborators: Caixa Penedès Obra Social Caixa Tarragona Caja Madrid Caja Navarra La Caixa Unnim Obra Social iniciatives aubaga,s.l. inversol, s.a. km3 la milicia, s.l. las arcadias levi strauss de españa, s.a. llaurado & associates maitia maitasuna, s.l.u. manelba, s.l. mediterranean fitness, s.l. món net i verd, s.l. orona sociedad cooperativa oto, s.l. parvulari orfila,s.l. prado de libarache s.l. praol, s.a. puig rovira llor abogados slp sancor asesoría de comercio exterior s.l. siars ibérica, s.l. sistemas de encuadernación s.l. sociquick,s.l. teyco comercial,s.l. tikum ioga salut tinkle comunications, s.l. tiselab s.l. tysa europa, s.l. ulma sociedad cooperativa uson assesors, s.l. victor go vistaprint wrigley
Administration/management collaborators: Ajuntament de Barcelona Diputació Barcelona Àrea de Benestar Social Diputació Barcelona. Àrea de Presidència Generalitat de Catalunya Departament d'Acció Social i Ciutadania Generalitat de Catalunya Departament de Governació i Administracions Públiques Generalitat de Catalunya Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge Gneralitat de Catalunya Departament de Treball Generalitat de Catalunya Departament de la Vicepresidència Ministerio de Igualdad Ministerio de Sanidad, Política socia e Igualdad
Team
Director_ 
