With the cold and wet weather over the last day or two (and with more low temperatures, wind, rain and snow forecast for today and tomorrow), I thought it might be fitting to think of the destitute and down-and-out homeless people living the streets of Palma de Mallorca. Perhaps, you might want to spare a thought.

According to newspaper reports, more than a hundred people in Palma spent last Christmas without a roof over their heads, out in the streets of Ciutat. Some of them are regulars, but others are part of a new wave of displaced and dispossessed itinerants that seem to have emerged over the last six months or so. Most of them may be victims of La Crisis, the ensuing unemployment and, coupled with that, perhaps the loss of a permanent home. The Institut Mallorquí d’Afers Socials in Palma launched a programme of activities a week or so ago, trying to help that group of people sin techo. In particular, the Balearic Red Cross and its Unidades Móviles de Emergencia Social are on the look-out for homeless people, and try to bring some of them into existing homeless shelters. Previously, these units made their rounds at night, but from now, they also offer this service during the daytime. I think these efforts should be applauded.

The photo was taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: November 24th, 2009. The time was 14:21:56.