• Direct. Breaking news about the snowstorm

  • Interview.Almeida warns that the next 36 hours are key to preventing the snow from becoming a "huge ice rink"

  • Circulatory collapse: The UME completes the rescue of the 400 vehicles trapped in Madrid and they find a dead man under the snow

His trail is summarized in

the bundle formed by a mattress, blankets now colored by ice, an unbound cart

.

Not even those who habitually move around a man who, like a soulless urban figurehead, usually sleeps in the open in Madrid's Prosperidad neighborhood had reliable data on his whereabouts at midday on Saturday.

A neighbor said that he finally agreed to leave his ruinous nest.

Another, who had heard him in the morning.

Homeless and no news from him.

The same snow that has been a reason to leave home for a while has become a severe problem for those who have nowhere to return.

"People in the street have a very bad time and nobody cares,"

complains Jupiter, 67, who has a past as a cabinetmaker.

She lives -according to her- in a tent "with a mattress, mattress and everything, where you lie down, you don't move and that's it", anchored in a lost corner of the Chamartín district.

He has approached the Avenida de América interchange because on Friday night he saw several branches collapse around him, broken by the accumulated snow.

Jupiter has been without a fixed roof for

fifteen years

.

"We live on the streets because we cannot pay rent, I am a worker, although I have never had a house," he says with a trace of indignation.

"I am not alone, I flee from others, nowadays you cannot trust anyone," he assures before rejecting, shaking his head and his blue cap, the possibility, even temporary, of a shelter.

But many institutions have mobilized in the last hours to provide shelter for the

homeless

.

The Madrid City Council has added

157 new places in hostels and pensions to give them accommodation

.

With them, the number enabled in this Cold Campaign rises to 665 to shelter the almost 2,800 homeless people in the city, according to the latest balance made in 2019.

"This is an exceptional response to an exceptional situation," says Pepe Aniorte, delegate councilor for Families, Equality and Social Welfare.

Faced with the problems of moving around the capital, the Samur Social staff has chosen to attend those who need it

at

night

at the Ópera, Tirso de Molina, Latina and Del Arte (Atocha) Metro stations

.

"We give them sandwiches, soup and blankets and, to the extent that we get transportation, from those four stations we can take them to the free places," he details.

The Department of Transport of the Community of Madrid decided that the suburban network should remain open and with uninterrupted train circulation throughout the night from Saturday to Sunday.

Aniorte, with 20 years of experience in assisting

homeless people

, is used to the rejection of some to shelters: "At this time it happens less, because in the cold they come more; part of our job is to convince them."

He explains that the Samur Social has been sweeping Madrid for days with six teams "to warn and inform them."

"Those who do not agree are the ones that concern us the most, we are involving all social entities to

reach each of these people, so that no one sleeps on the street

because there is an enormous danger," he concludes.

Neither the low temperature nor the sleet in the early afternoon disturb

Amiran, standing in front of the Avenida de América interchange

.

Georgiano, 48, does not show any fear of the storm.

Accustomed to a life "from here to there", he arrived in Spain 19 years ago.

He has worked, he says, in wineries in La Rioja and for three months he has seen himself on the street for what he succinctly summarizes as "family problems."

When insisted on the risk of not accepting any help, a smile pulls down the mask.

Despite so many uncertainties, it only conveys resignation.

"

The neighbors bring you food, clothes and shoes, you can't say anything bad about them

, people look at you well if you behave," he adds with his gaze fixed on the building opposite.

Since the start of the storm, the Spanish Red Cross had carried out 899 assistances in about twenty provinces until mid-afternoon on Saturday, both to people caught on the road and to others without resources.

In total, it had provided 227 shelter places.

The deployment continues to develop and in a very specific way to get the homeless off the street as soon as possible.

"

We continue to locate homeless people, of whom we have their contacts

, to accompany them and inform them of the resources at their disposal, detect their needs and be able to cover them later," explains David de Miguel, director of Social Intervention and Employment at Cruz Red in the Community of Madrid.

In this region they are trying to maintain contact with some 160 homeless people.

The NGO extends its response to shelters, where it serves another 150. Through an agreement with Carrefour, it has collected and delivered 600 food rations.

The next night may be worse.

Amiran shrugs again.

Neither a hostel nor the exchanger.

Yes he was cold during the last morning, but he prefers to sleep between his mattress and his cardboard.

In a row of cluttered little cubicles, open to the elements, lined up like attached houses of precariousness.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Madrid

  • The Rioja

  • Spain

  • Madrid's community

MadridThe four cases detected in Madrid of the British strain of Covid have mild symptoms

MadridEvery Madrilenian spends 77 euros on average in the lottery for the Christmas Draw this 2020

Tourism in the Canary Islands collapses in high season, while Catalonia and Madrid disappear as destinations

See links of interest

  • Coronavirus Spain today

  • Check Loteria Niño 2021

  • Seville - Real Sociedad

  • Benevento - Atalanta

  • Mirandés - Rayo Vallecano

  • Granada CF - Barcelona

  • Osasuna - Real Madrid