Algarve creates 123 beds in shared apartments for homeless people

Integrated in the National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People 2017-2023

GRATO's Mural - Photo: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação (file)

The Algarve will provide a total of 123 beds in shared apartments for homeless people, in Albufeira, Faro, Lagoa, Lagos, Loulé, Portimão, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António.

For this, in the last days of December, five more protocols were signed with social institutions, for the creation of 45 more places in four municipalities, and it is expected that this week protocols will be signed for another 8 beds.

The 45 new vacancies were registered with GRATO (Portimão), GATO (Faro), Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Albufeira, MAPS (Faro), The Companion (Lagoon) and HOME (Faro).

In the case of Lagoa, for example, 10 beds will now be created in shared apartments, in a project promoted by IPSS “O Companheiro”.

Luís Encarnação, Mayor of Lagos, commented that "luckily, in our council, we don't have many homeless people, but, even so, it is important to have this answer for the cases that are identified and others that may arise".

Henrique Joaquim, coordinator of the National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People 2017-2023, who was in Faro last week for the ceremony that took place at the District Center of Faro Social Security, also revealed that the approximately 70 beds registered a year ago already have an «execution rate in the order of 80%».

The creation of 123 beds is part of one of the axes of the Government's Strategy, which involves the signing of collaboration protocols between Social Security, which ensures funding, and social institutions, which operate, in a model that has the support of local authorities , also contemplating monitoring by technicians.

The initiative's main objective is to take people off the streets and give them the opportunity to pursue an alternative life project.

The National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People 2017-2023 comprises three intervention axes, which aim to promote knowledge of the phenomenon of homeless people, information, awareness and education, the reinforcement of a promoting intervention integration of these people, as well as the coordination, monitoring and evaluation of the initiative.

The first protocols to offer this response to the Algarve region «were celebrated about a year ago» and «have achieved great success with the occupation of more than 80% of the capacity to receive the homeless».

 

 

 
 



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