More than 13,000 people were homeless in 2023
More than 13,000 people were homeless in mainland Portugal in 2023, an increase of 2,300 cases over the previous year.
According to the summary of results from the National Strategy for the Integration of People Experiencing Homelessness (ENIPSSA) Inquiry into the Characterisation of People Experiencing Homelessness for 2023, a total of 13,128 people were identified.
These people are categorised into two groups: people living without shelter (7,705) – in other words, living in extremely precarious conditions, such as on the streets; and people living without a home (5,423), which includes people who live in temporary accommodations, such as shelters or housing programmes, but do not have permanent housing.
Information was sought from Local Social Action Councils (CLAS) or Homelessness Planning and Intervention Centres (NPISA) in 278 municipalities across mainland Portugal. 277 municipalities responded, achieving a response rate of 99.6%. The only municipality that did not respond was Santa Comba Dão.
Responses from Estremoz in the Alentejo, and Faro and Portimão in the Algarve were not taken into account “as it was found that they do not correspond to the number of homeless people in these areas,” the summary says.
Unsurprisingly, Lisbon had the highest number of homeless people (3,378), followed by Beja (597), Porto (597), and Moura (559).
Unemployment or job insecurity (3,290), addiction to alcohol or psychoactive substances (2,983) and lack of family support (2,926) were singled out as the main causes behind homelessness.
Most people experiencing homelessness (72%) are men aged between 45 and 64, and the Social Insertion Income (RSI) is the most mentioned source of income (47%).
The ENIPSSA document also points out that Portuguese account for the largest percentage of homeless people (64%), while the citizenship of 12% of homeless people is unknown.
A total of 1,540 couples were also identified, with 1,198 living without shelter and 342 without a home.
Last year, 987 people who managed to obtain permanent housing were also signposted, 310 of them in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML). Elsewhere, previously homeless people were able to find a home in the North (347), followed by AML, the Centre (213), the Algarve (63), and the Alentejo (54).
Source: LUSA
