The Madrid City Council has provided social care to a total of 1,630 people in situations of socio-residential exclusion through the 2024-2025 Winter Campaign coordinated by SAMUR Social. This campaign ran from November 23, 2024, to March 31, 2025. The initiative offered 432 stable places, with additional spots available during extreme temperature drops. These individuals, consisting of 1,296 men (80%) and 334 women (20%), received essential support for accommodation, food, hygiene, and access to services like laundry, wardrobe, and storage. This comprehensive assistance was necessary when weather conditions added further risks to their already vulnerable street situations.
The delegate for Social Policies, Family, and Equality, José Fernández, along with Councilor Carlos Segura, presented the campaign’s outcomes at the SAMUR Social Central, emphasizing a slight decrease in the number of people served compared to the previous year’s 1,890 users. This decline was due to a strategic focus on providing extended support to the most vulnerable profiles within the social emergency, such as young individuals under 30, seniors over 65, individuals with serious physical or mental health conditions, and those with low levels of autonomy.
Continuing its commitment to supporting women in social emergencies, the City Council ensured similar levels of assistance for female individuals in the 2024-2025 campaign (20.5%) compared to the previous year (21.7%). The overall occupancy rate of the Winter Campaign resources averaged 92.8%, with additional emergency spots activated during periods of severe temperature drops, like the first three weeks of March, to accommodate around 1,000 extra stays with an 88% occupancy rate.
The increased presence of vulnerable profiles led to a higher demand for social care, met through the reinforcement of social workers and social services assistants. The budget for the Winter Campaign for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 periods increased from 3.5 to 4.1 million euros, enabling the expansion of the team from 43 to 51 professionals. This strengthened personnel facilitated individualized basic socio-sanitary care, with 12,176 health interventions and 6,741 social work actions conducted during the campaign.
The social work department also facilitated access to other resources, with 428 referrals to municipal social services centers and 21 to elderly care centers. Moreover, 186 individuals accessed the Municipal Network for Homeless People, alternative accommodation programs, or other services, with 3% successfully transitioning to independent living. Additionally, the Winter Campaign provided support to 268 asylum seekers, offering accommodation and social assistance while their asylum applications were processed by the relevant authorities.
The 2024-2025 Winter Campaign not only bolstered its professional team and extended the activation of extra spots but also introduced hot meals for dinners instead of cold snacks. This nutrition improvement positively impacted user conflicts within the centers. Furthermore, the installation of a simultaneous mobile charging locker with a locking system contributed to a safer and more peaceful living environment.
SAMUR Social professionals led this multi-service municipal initiative, with support from EMT Madrid for transportation, Police Municipal for orderly user collection, SAMUR-Protection Civil for emergency health response, Street Teams for user detection and referral, and Volunteers for Madrid for social accompaniment. The Winter Campaign, with 432 stable places across various centers, operates during harsh weather conditions, providing year-round support to individuals in social emergencies or street situations through the Municipal Network for Homeless People’s 1,200+ places.
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