Luis Moreno: "the Association of Neighbors is to claim the needs of the neighborhood".

We interviewed Luis Moreno, president of the association Juan Valera.

The following interview is about the particular vision of an agent of change in Badalona, more specifically in the neighborhood of Llefià. Luis Moreno is the president of the Juan Valera Neighborhood Association where he observes the reality of the neighborhood and proposes solutions to the various problems that exist in the area within its possibilities.

Luis Moreno started in social movements years ago and also belongs to a political party in a personal capacity, but when he appears at events or performs any action is presented as Luis de Juan Valera. He works dealing with different types of problems, helping to give food, solving conflicts of coexistence or providing other assistance. He tries to do whatever it takes to rise to the occasion.

From a psychosocial point of view, Luis is the perfect example of a change agent who works in a network with different collectives and entities to create solutions and give continuity among neighbors with the projects. Within an ecological point of view, he manages to work at different levels, and in addition, with his political party he aims to influence the macro context, where social norms and policies that influence the most nuclear levels of Bronfenbrenner's theory are forged.

As psychologists we could work from multiple perspectives, so the ideal in this case would be a work between different professionals in a network and following up both individual cases and reports that can give institutions such as the city council, schools, youth organizations, etc.. But what if there are no specialized conflict resolution teams in areas in need of them?

Luis brings some light to the subject by reflecting on the specific situation of his area and a particular case in which the neighborhood association welcomed 120 people so that they could be trained in freedom in the spaces of the association, in addition to forming a self-managed food bank and alternative to the conventional one. In cases where it is necessary to work for the environment but also to promote empowerment through the participationinterpersonal relationships, the promotion of community community health and personal development.

The neighborhood association as a tool for empowerment

What is the function of a neighborhood association?

It has many functions, and they go back a long way. When they were created they were places where people demanded improvements for the neighborhoods, problems with neighbors, etc. This goes back 40 years, and there were four people. Today the competences are even more, from giving food to people who do not have enough to eat, helping people who have been evicted, people with a very low income, and collaborating with the social assistance that is also overwhelmed. I have here a huge list that makes your soul fall to the ground, they are living badly unfortunately, and from the neighborhood association we give all the support we can, for example, every 15 days we help with food. And this is the current mission of the neighborhood association in the neighborhood, given the complexities of the area. There is also the issue of the payment of the neighbors' communities for the maintenance of the building where they live, of course, not being able to afford the payments and not being able to pay water, electricity, etc., there are clashes between those who pay and those who do not. And there we try to mediate between the neighbors, sometimes with more or less success. Basically, neighborhood associations are there to help people and to claim neighborhood needs.

What are the specific functions of the neighborhood association, such as offering activities or participating in festivals?

To give an example, in May, all the neighborhood associations get together to organize the festivities. An orchestra was brought in, we organized activities for the children, we distributed cake and cava among the members, etc. But this is over, because the situation is what it is and the needs prevailed, all that money was used for food and distributed among the neediest people.

How do social policies affect a neighborhood association?

Concretely now and in this area, there are none due to the management of the city council and the current party. People have to make a living as best they can, with the food bank that we have created we try to get the administration to lend us a hand but we find many obstacles. They work when the elections come, but day to day they do nothing, and they don't look after the people in need.

And why do you do what you do?

I think it is something that has to be done, I think that whoever sees the current situation of crisis and helplessness has to stand up and say enough is enough. Then, those of us who are involved in these actions are unfortunately getting older and we do not see a strong relief, there are things that cannot be allowed. A person who sees what is there cannot allow it, that is why we do what we do. To try to change the situation of social injustice.

Who or which are the neighborhood agents that are involved in the resolution of problems?

Well, associations, groups, people who are not involved in entities but who try to collaborate, etc. But I would like people to get more involved, to have a little more understanding of the problems we have. It seems that most people only care about personal problems but forget about collective problems. And in this neighborhood, unfortunately, there are outbreaks of racism that the city council promotes, and we must support those who are most disadvantaged by current policies.

What is the relationship with the entities of the territory from the neighborhood association?

There is a good relationship, in fact in our district there are 8 neighborhood associations. One of them does not work because the party that is in power in the city council was in charge of closing it. The rest of us work as a team fighting for health care, neighborhood culture, evictions, etc. Regarding food collection, there are some schools that are helping a lot, public schools in which the AMPAS also collect food to add it to the bank of the neighborhood association, etc. In general there is a good relationship. The only thing is that there are very few people on the boards of the neighborhood associations and there is no way for them to take over in some of them.

Regarding the neighborhood, what types of problems exist in the community?

In this neighborhood there are many problems, especially of coexistence. It is a neighborhood that has always been working class and now there is a very high rate of immigration. In fact, in the neighborhood next door there is a 25% immigrant population of different nationalities, there are all kinds. And they are different cultures and ways of thinking, some people do not get to adapt and the natives sometimes do not let a single one pass, and there are outbreaks of racism in communities where you can find cases of violence because of these cases. We are mediating in many communities, but we cannot dedicate ourselves exclusively to it, because we do it in a disinterested way and we go as far as we can. But come on, the main problem is coexistence. Like everything else, everyone has their own rules and beliefs, but we have to have more respect for people and be more tolerant.

And what is the implication of the administration in the problems of coexistence? And of the agents of the neighborhood? Do the police play a sanctioning or cooperative role?

The police in a way are ordered, and the orders they receive are to fine uncivic behaviors, even if they are insolvent. The city council does not cooperate at all. From here we try to make a neighborhood of everyone for everyone, that there are no problems because we come from different places, that we all go together and respect the environment. Being equal without looking down on each other, but it is very difficult, since the cultural level influences the perception of people as well as the level of tolerance, as well as the degree of effort in the integration that people from outside may have. Sometimes we are in the middle of a crossfire, but we practice the example of tolerance.

Does the administration have teams specialized in managing these conflicts?

Yes, there is a special local police force called UCO that goes in plainclothes and acts as mediators, as good people. I have a good relationship with the person in charge of this issue and they do a good job. They go to the sites talking about the problems, etc. And we have achieved good results, although there are fewer and fewer of them. Previously we had in this area a series of mediators hired by the city council, but since the current political party has been in place, there has been no such team, and we were very satisfied with them. We were making very good progress, but the team disappeared. And these problems are also growing because of the economic situation, but we are working as best we can.

Leaving these conflicts aside, why are there more than 150 children studying in the neighborhood association?

It turns out that there was a Muslim association that rented a place next door to give classes to the children because they do not want their children to lose their customs, and they give Arabic classes as if they were in their country. There were also local people. But the city council closed the place alleging that they had done works without a permit, and it is false. They asked for the permit and they had it in hand, although it was already foreseen that they would close the place due to the prevailing policies. Because the area they were in was susceptible to capture votes, and now that the elections are coming, they are doing well. And the demagogy is present at their expense. Then the people who were in charge of the premises came to the neighborhood association and told me about the problem. The children who were studying no longer had a place to learn. When they demonstrated to protest, I was there too, because we have to support the causes of the people of the neighborhood, and I offered them a stopgap solution, which was to give them two rooms in the neighborhood association to give classes until they could find another place. And there they are giving classes with qualified teachers from their country of origin, and they have been there for two months and there are no complaints, they behave in a very orderly and cordial way. I told them that there would be no problem with the administration for this, what I do not want is to leave people in the street having spaces, and this is the house of the people. It is there for those who need it. They have offered to collaborate with the neighborhood association in whatever we need, in short, very well, and they will be there for as long as they need.

Do they do review classes for the classes they teach at the school?

They are all in school and they give them review classes as well, but most of the classes are those related to their roots.

What is the opinion of the neighbors?

There are neighbors who see these people as the people they are and others look at them with suspicion. But what is clear is that they will be here as long as they need to be. Something very big has to happen for them to have to leave, but this is for everyone in general. And if there were external pressures for them to leave, I would go with them.

Are they involved in the neighborhood association or in neighborhood activities, or has the opportunity not yet arisen because of the recentness of the case?

At the moment they have not been able to do anything, but they have told me that if we have parties for the children or activities, they will all come to do whatever is needed. In the last town hall meeting they came with me to support the local demands, that is to say, if you need them to be with you, they are with you. And that is very important, in fact, they collaborate more than many local people. They are very grateful. It seems that if you help people here, if you help them it is because it is your obligation, and it is not really.

Very well, at this point we are finishing the interview. Thank you very much for your collaboration, would you like to add anything else?

Seeing what there is in this area, which seems to be the most needy of the whole city, I think there are many things that can be done, but it is a matter of people wanting to work. Look, we did a solidarity concert to collect food and, thanks to that, we spent 4 months distributing food to 120 families. And I would like to form an alternative food bank for those who do not have access to the conventional food bank, because it has little capacity, and there is more need than places to receive food. So, for those who are left out, I would like to be able to cover this need from the neighborhood association. But to be able to carry it out I need people to go to collect food at different points, and to distribute it, because I have carried all this work alone for a long time and there comes a time when the fatigue is enormous. I need people to lend a hand and thus give long-term viability to this self-managed food bank. If only to be able to cover 130 people, whatever we can reach. The people who receive it really appreciate it, and it is necessary. That's what I want to add, we have to help people beyond the individual problems of each one.