On this path, the steps so often pointed out include food support, psychological support and the re-establishment of ties, access to housing and integration into the labour market.
Fortunately in Portugal, and in the specific case of the city of Porto, the issue of combating street hunger has made a lot of progress, and civil society through many new initiatives and associations on the one hand (night rounds, food parcels, food banks, etc.), and public bodies through social canteens, support and solidarity restaurants (such as the 3 created by Porto City Council) on the other have managed to multiply ways of making food available to those in need.
Psychological support, the re-establishment of ties and the restructuring of the person is perhaps the most invisible and complex phase, which relies solely on the person's inner struggles and inner recovery. In Portugal, with the National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People, each person should be accompanied by a case manager who will provide this support, and whose operation in several cities falls far short of what is legislated and with great variations in time and from territory to territory.
The next step of finding a room or accommodation has been the highest step on the ladder for so many, and it has got worse in recent years as prices have risen. So much so that today many of the beds that would be emergency beds (and therefore for short stays of months) are actually long-term beds, with cases of people in the city of Porto having occupied an emergency bed for more than 20 years. In this area, it's essential to have long-term accommodation so that the various responses can work properly and thus minimise the time spent on the streets, which, the longer it is, the harder it is to reverse.
If the person manages to take all these steps, they will reach the final step, and the most important one for social inclusion is entering the labour market. This is the most common step towards full autonomy. Although it is possible and sought after for the overwhelming majority of people, it is important to say that there will always be some people whose autonomisation will not be complete.
There are various ways and initiatives to achieve integration into the labour market, such as supported employment (not to be confused with sheltered employment, which is carried out by people with disabilities in workshops specifically set up for this purpose).
Supported employment is an area with a lot to develop in Portugal, especially in the sector that generates the most employment, which is the private sector. According to a study by Plataforma + Emprego and the AEP Foundation, a quarter of the companies involved had partnerships with the social sector and the majority already had informal social responsibility practices. The overwhelming majority of companies recognise the social impact that hiring people with low qualifications generates and are aware of state support for hiring in general, and just under two thirds have made use of it.
However, in the case of homeless people, the main barriers they point to are low qualifications, the perception of a greater potential for problems (indiscipline, labour relations, etc.) and the lack of integrated work between companies and social inclusion processes.
The Platform + Emprego has tried to resolve these three barriers, with a greater focus on the last two.
Thus, in partnership with the IEFP, it created the first specific training for this public in 2015, assesses and monitors people and liaises with companies. Over the last 10 years, the Platform + Emprego has changed the lives of 122 people in Porto and, despite being based on the work of technicians from social organisations and volunteers, and without a budget, it has led to savings of around €1.3 million for Social Security.
The Catholic University evaluated the project over three years and concluded that for every month that one of these people worked, the state saved €639.
Companies are willing, there is a very positive balance for the state, there are people waiting for a job opportunity to become autonomous and rebuild their lives. There are ways to empower homeless people, we just need greater ambition to transform lives by leveraging employment for social inclusion!
