It was a "very difficult road" until the inauguration of the Social Emergency Accommodation Center (CAES) do Algarve, but after years of designing the project, the house is now ready to receive 46 people who temporarily need a place to live.
It is in the former buildings of the Regional Directorate of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Algarve, in Patacão, that this accommodation now operates, which aims to help «create the will to change their lives» to all who enter here. The official opening is scheduled for today, Wednesday, September 7th.
In all, there is room to accommodate 46 people – with an answer initially being created for 30 – that Fábio Simão, president of the Movement in Support of the Problem of AIDS (MAPS), expects you to feel “at home” here. A house that, since 1 September, has already sheltered five people.
«CAES came from a dream for the Algarve community. It is a response that we want to implement in a way that no one has needs and is left with a closed door», he tells the Sul Informação the president of the association and leader of this accommodation project, which is being implemented in close collaboration with the Centro Distrital da Segurança Social de Faro, directed by Margarida Flores.
Entering the Algarve Social Emergency Accommodation Center is not like entering any other social centre. Here, efforts were made to set aside the «institutional aspect» and create much more than «just a place with beds and lockers».
«This looks like a 5 star Hostel, yes, but we have to understand that our concern is human dignity. Let's imagine that we are in a horrible situation, in which, from one moment to the next, we lose everything. Arriving at a place that inspires comfort, care and that was made by people for people is totally different. Our goal is for them to get in here and think that everything will be fine», explains Fábio Simão, noting that much of what is found here is also the result of the solidarity of the Algarve.
Many of the furniture came from hotels, others were donated and restored by volunteers, who also thought about the decoration and worked long hours to, as Fábio says, «every day make this house a better place». In addition, paints, tiles and other building materials were donated by companies.
«This is a home for all of us, because the truth is that we never know tomorrow. We never know if we're going to need help. And on the day I needed help, I would give anything to get into a place like this», Sul Informação.
For 12 years at the head of the MAPS presidency, voluntarily, Fábio Simão, together with Elsa Morais Cardoso, vice president, and the rest of the team, have come, with the projects they develop, to place the association at a level of reference for National level.
«In addition to CAES, we have many other works in progress», says the president, referring to the example of the shared apartments, in operation for a year, and which gave the Algarve «the best integration rate in the country».
«We are already a national reference in working with the homeless and when, some time ago, we created a project and they asked me what needed to be done, I said: first, it is to make the Algarve the first region in the country without people living on the street, then the country and then the world. As long as there is some kind of inequality, MAPS will continue to exist and, therefore, it is important for people to approach these situations and get to know the realities", he says, referring that much is due to the close relationship that exists between MAPS and the District Social Security Center.
«The Algarve has a very healthy and praiseworthy characteristic, which is the close relationship that all entities have. Sometimes I think that we don't value our region or the way we do things. I usually say that MAPS is an extension of the Social Security services, because we always manage, together, to seek an answer and focus on the solution", he continues, praising the "vision" and "tireless work" of Margarida Flores and the your team.
It was, in fact, through this joint work that they managed to proceed with the work of CAES, which, due to all the obstacles, also caused by the pandemic, was much more time-consuming and expensive than expected.
From an estimated initial investment of 200 thousand euros, they went to almost 600 thousand. the date of opening had to be postponed more than once, but, during the process, Fábio emphasizes that they had the support of many companies and also of the Municipality of Faro, which, in addition to the investment of 180 thousand euros, pays monthly rent for the space (almost four thousand euros).
After years of work, CAES is officially inaugurated this Wednesday, September 7th, but, for Fábio, the most remarkable moment has passed: «it was when we received the first person here».
Ao Sul Informação, explains that the CAES, which is still undergoing final restoration, will operate in three modalities.
The standard accommodation, lasting three months, with the possibility of renewal for another three months, makes it possible to accommodate people who, for whatever reason, have been left without a home or are in a crisis situation. Emergency accommodation, planned to accommodate people for 72 hours, is intended, for example, for those who are experiencing domestic violence and need a quick response. In addition, CAES also has a team available to, at any time, go out and help those who are in a crisis situation.
«All emergency situations have a place here, activating line 144, during periods when Social Security is closed, or going to Social Security, which is the one who signals here».
As the MAPS president explains, CAES is a pilot project – «a challenge from the Ministry of Solidarity, Employment and Social Security to create something different and innovative and, being a pilot project, if it goes well, it will be a model to spread to the rest from the country".
Ao Sul Informação confesses that he has no doubts that it will go well.
«Since the 1st of September, we have already received four people and we will now have another integration. Without identifying the person, I can tell you that our first user, who came here five days ago, is now our collaborator. Our job is to show people who arrive here that we believe they can do it and what we seek is to help create the will to change their lives», he concludes.
Photos: Mariana Sedge | Sul Informação
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