The woman, who had been living on the streets of Calafell for over two years—first on the promenade and later near the train station—had settled in the bus shelter near the Local Police and the Red Cross for more than a year. During this entire period, she had systematically rejected all offers of assistance.
The operation was activated on Friday morning under the municipal argument of occupying public space, considered an agile mechanism to force attention. When the Local Police required the woman to leave the shelter, she reacted with tension and was detained. Subsequently, the Mossos d’Esquadra took charge, and she remains in the police station awaiting judicial disposition.
If there is no judicial mandate, no one can be involuntarily admitted, since if a person decides to live on the street and does not pose a danger to third parties, they cannot be forced to receive care.
Municipal Social Services, the Red Cross, and numerous neighbors had repeatedly offered alternatives such as shelters, dining halls, or hygiene facilities, but the woman refused. This situation had generated criticism among Calafell residents regarding the slowness of the justice system in taking urgent care measures.
The bus shelter, which served as her home for over a year and where she carried out her necessities, has been left empty and sealed off by the Local Police for deep disinfection. The woman now awaits a judge's decision, based on forensic assessments and Social Services reports, to determine if her admission to a center is decreed.
