BACStation: un futuro para jóvenes migrantes

Despite having a solid network of collaborating entities and access to free or solidarity-based training, our budgets are often limited. Each of the 70 youngsters has specific needs to cover. Important expenses such as dental visits and medication, administrative procedures or decisive courses allows our contribution not to be limited by unforeseen events. These expenses are unavoidable to achieve autonomy and regularization of young people and prevent them from returning to the street.

These expenses are summarized in three main fronts:

HEALTH
Especially dental problems after living on the streets for a long time. It is a recurring problem that often prevents them from carrying out day-to-day tasks, going to courses and sometimes disrupting conviviality. Medications are also recurring and are not things that we can do without.

ADMINISTRATIVE TRANSACTIONS
Many of these young men arrive without identity documents, which requires a passport to be requested. In addition, some have to renew the Spanish residency permit (without a work permit) that is given to them when they turn 18, the age at which they have to leave the juvenile center. Passport photos or transport to Madrid, for example, are additional expenses to the procedures and essential to access training, beyond the simple need to identify yourself.

TRAINING AND MATERIALS
We have collaborating entities that allow us to offer a wide variety of free courses, from languages, through basic schooling to professional training. Despite this, many public courses have to be paid for, in addition to the fact that they sometimes need to buy material in order to carry out their tasks.

With a goal of 6000 euros, we will cover what is necessary so that the day-to-day life of these young people is less limited. Many times we find that they have language classes in an external entity, but they cannot attend because our budget does not always cover the possibility of buying metro cards for everyone. It also happens that everything and having guaranteed transportation, they cannot attend due to dental problems after years of living on the street, which generates unbearable pain. This objective will cover an average of 85 euros per young person during the next 6 months and this will make a difference.

This project is aimed at all people who want to make a difference in the lives of these young people and coexistence in our society.
Language courses, professional training, psycho-emotional support, activities inside and outside the BACStations, are possible thanks to the enormous network of volunteers who accompany these young people in their tasks, bureaucratic procedures or coexistence activities. This assures us that Barcelona's civil society is supportive and we are proud to be able to contribute with these spaces that go beyond assistencialism, creating intercultural bridges and promoting the contributions that these young people can make to our society.
We are thus extending the call not only to the action of volunteers, but also to those people who would like to actively collaborate in our activities, but do not have time for direct action. Any contribution, always within the possibilities of each individual, will make the whole difference.

We have been working in the refugee field since 2018. Social workers, interns and volunteers form a team dedicated to the reception and social integration of ex-ward youth, asylum seekers, humanitarian immigrants. For this specific project, we have two centers open since July 2020 in which we carry out these tasks.

Laia Serrano
After months of observing how Barcelona reacts in times of crisis; to see how people who lose their jobs choose to dedicate part of their time to volunteering, to see people who are well and feel the need to help but don't really know how ... I thought that due to the crisis, a new model of the city could emerge; a supportive and sensitive coexistence was not only necessary, but likely. It is in our hands to achieve it and BarcelonActua is here to help with that task.

Griselda Bereciartu
I had been developing social projects all over the world for years. After the Syrian crisis that led me to work with refugees in Germany, I understood that the needs of this group would soon reach my country. And what better way to continue acting than in my own city? The dynamism and determination with which immigration and refugee projects are approached by the Foundation allows me to find full identication with my work. I clearly see the impact of what we do every day; and the value of having all the people who make up this great family. I am proud to be part of a team that shares a common passion and unconditional dedication.

Christelle Frederic
I started at BarcelonActua as a volunteer with the elderly in my neighborhood. I immediately realized how a "solidarity chain" is created where everyone collaborates in their own way: businesses, volunteers, entities, partners, companies. Thanks to all these "micro" initiatives that have a very large impact, we learn from each other beyond people's social conditions. All of us, volunteers and beneficiaries, have skills and talents to share. Giving a little of my time, listening, I have received so much! So, in the continuity of this enriching experience, I am very happy to continue working at the service of the BAC community.

Eliseo Loye
I consider empowering people for their own emancipation to be the way to build sustainable societies. How can we build self-managed societies, in favor of equity and justice? Pedagogical action can be used in response to these questions. As a pedagogue, I seek to make my work a task that guarantees social justice. From the interaction with the members of the community, a close link to collective empowerment is created. By building these bonds of union, self-management and the well-being of people become possible. I am passionate about being able to have a space in BarcelonActua where I can develop an educational action with this mission; we are all part of society and we are responsible for its future.

Khaoula Belbachir
My journey with BAC began 2 years ago as a volunteer, giving language classes to refugees and humanitarian immigrants. The classes allowed me to know first-hand the main needs and problems that newcomers encounter, as well as the various forms of support that the foundation uses in their resolution. I was very excited about this stage and found even greater pleasure in being part of the coordination of the refuge area through which we not only offer emotional support and hope but also dignity and respect. I feel very proud to belong to this great family that changes lives every day.

Marian Bernat
After dedicating myself to corporate communication and supporting different clients, I wanted to take a turn in my professional career and use the loudspeaker that communication implies to help others and involve society in projects that favor social action. In this way I combine the two things that I am passionate about, my work as a communicator and helping to promote social change through a message of empowerment and equality.

Carme Loza
I started as a volunteer at BarcelonActua 8 years ago in the Raval dining room, as coordinator of the "Dijous Tots a Taula" project. Helping people on the streets, with basic needs, has given me a lot and I have no longer wanted to leave the social field. For a year I have been part of the team of one of the hostels, responsible for its management and cohesion. I am very happy to be with them at this time and help them make their integration process as smooth and successful as possible.

Zacharie Ohayon
After studying Law and doing an internship at the Council of Europe, I started as a volunteer at BarcelonActua. I liked the contact with the young people, the team dynamics and the freedom in the projects I participated in right away. This volunteering allowed me to understand their situations, get to know them, and face directly the complexities of the immigration law and its consequences in the dayly life of these young people. I am currently responsible for their professional integration, in addition to administrative tasks and legal issues. It is a condition for their regularization, but also for their independence and autonomy as young adults.

Laia Nieva
My journey with BAC began 2 and a half years ago as a volunteer from corporate social action in the company I worked for.
After dedicating myself for several years to executive development in a Spanish multinational, I made a professional change to help young people find their life purpose. Now at the Foundation I have joined the enormous pedagogical work, being responsible for one of the BACStations, where every day we work for the well-being of the young people from the holistic point of view.