«This is a collective victory, of a collective strategy to respond individually to those in need». This is how Ana Mendes Godinho, Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, defined the Center for Social Emergency Accommodation (CAES) of the Algarve, officially opened this Wednesday, September 7th, a public holiday in Faro.
The minister began by congratulating the MAPS team and other entities involved in this project, saying that “all barriers were overcome because we all had a common objective, which was to create a space for people to transform”.
Ana Mendes Godinho also took advantage of the moment to praise «the regional capacity for articulation that there has been».
“These answers are not given with the touch and run of a single entity. They respond with a comprehensive approach, with the Algarve as an example in Portugal. The Algarve managed to put together a regional strategy, articulating everyone, putting everyone to work together, which, at the moment, allows, for example, that between the emergency and transition responses we already have more than 160 vacancies here in the Algarve after two years , starting almost from scratch", he said, pointing out the inauguration of CAES as "a symbolic day".
The ceremony was also attended by the various volunteers who helped to build this project led by Fábio Simão, president of MAPS, and Elsa Morais Cardoso, vice-president, who thanked the “tireless” help of Margarida Flores, director of the District Security Center. social of Faro, and Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Municipality of Faro.
«This is a piece of equipment that has been lacking for a long time in the Algarve and which, for us, the municipality and the Government, will alleviate the anguish of seeing people on the street and not being able to reach them. This is what we often feel when we know that someone is there, but we do not have the effective capacity to help them, because the help we give them when they are cold, with a blanket, or when they are hungry, with a meal, is very little help. . Here, we will have equipment that will try to help people to integrate them back into society», stressed the mayor of Faro.
This «house of hope», as Margarida Flores defined it, is now ready to welcome 46 people – and initially a response to 30 was created. Since September 1st, several people have passed through here, one of which is currently a MAPS collaborator, as o Sul Informação yesterday, in a report.
Photos: Mariana Sedge | Sul Informação
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