Santa Coloma de Gramenet has opened Salut Àgora, a new mental health recovery centre on Carrer Sant Carles, 55. The centre was inaugurated on Wednesday, 3 June, and is a joint project between the Departament de Salut and Hospital del Mar.

The new service is part of the Functional Unit for Recovery and Life Project initiative, and it is being run as a pilot project. Mireia González, the mayor of Santa Coloma, said the location makes sense because the city is at a strategic moment and needs a resource of this kind.

Salut Àgora is set up to support people after long psychiatric hospital stays, with basic home-style spaces such as a living room, kitchen, bathrooms and laundry facilities. The idea is to help patients rebuild daily routines, including eating well and keeping up hygiene, while they regain independence.

Francina Fonseca, director of the Hospital del Mar Health Institute, said the aim is to reduce stigma and help people use their own strengths. She also said the pilot, which has been in development since 2023, should become a permanent service, with the hope that it can be added to the service portfolio for all of Catalonia.

The centre will act as a reference point for private consultations and for work with patients, families and professionals. Staff will support people inside and outside the centre, including help with housing and employment. Patients will come from hospitals in Santa Coloma, Badalona and Sant Adrià de Besòs, as well as other Hospital del Mar centres in Santa Coloma. The centre will open in the mornings and afternoons, and stay closed at night.

At the same time, Santa Coloma is still dealing with problems at its Adult Mental Health Centre, the CSMA on Carrer Irlanda. Workers and local residents have complained for years about poor infrastructure, including pests and damp, and residents protested last November to demand better psychiatric care. The Community tag has more local reporting on services and neighbourhood issues in the city.

The PSC and Comuns agreed in the Generalitat's 2026 budgets to relocate the CSMA to a more suitable site, but no specific location or date has been confirmed yet. For more Barcelona-area coverage, see our Sport tag and Community tag for local updates across the city and surrounding area.

Originally published by Metrópoli Abierta - Urban Life. Read original article.