Red Cross launches “Bench of Memories” fundraising campaign
Portugal’s housing crisis has had a dramatic effect on the number of people classified as ‘homeless’. Just in 2024, the Portuguese Red Cross say people receiving help from their street teams have increased by 76%, while the average number of daily meals served is up by 34%.
This is worrying data, says the institute, as it “shows the deteriorating living conditions of many people and families in situations of vulnerability”.
It also highlights the rising cost of living, the lack of affordable housing and the insufficiency of social support systems.
“”The trend is not limited to those living on the streets, but also includes people at risk of homelessness, many of whom are employed but still lack the financial capacity to secure stable housing,” says the Red Cross in information sent to Lusa.
This information, which relates to 2024, shows a change in profile, with a “significant increase in the number of entire families, young people in precarious housing situations and workers whose salaries do not allow them to cover their housing costs”.
Meanwhile, the organisation has seen a drop of 31% in the number of people who have received accommodation, which the institute explains as a “lack of affordable housing solutions, which inhibit turnover in reception structures”.
“The scarcity of housing at prices compatible with income, the rise in rents, the lack of complementary support for autonomy and the unavailability of vacancies in reception facilities subsequent to those of a temporary or more specialised nature, prevent people from leaving, limiting access to new beneficiaries,” says Red Cross.
In this sense, like so many other voices before it, the institute calls for more effective public policies that promote access to decent housing, and the reinforcement social support, “allowing shelters to have a real impact on the social reintegration of homeless people”.
As a way of trying to make a dent in this problem, the institute has created a campaign, called ‘Bench of Memories’ (a reference to the benches on which homeless people are often portrayed), to alert and increase society’s awareness “of this alarming reality, and contribute to effective solutions”.
As the organisation explains, the campaign consists of the inauguration of park benches, in partnership with Red Cross structures in Santarém – Cartaxo, Braga and Vila Nova de Gaia, to encourage civil society to reflect and join the Red Cross in the fight against the social exclusion of homeless people.
The campaign kicks off today to mark World Social Justice Day, with TV and radio spots, and hopes to appeal to citizens and companies to contribute to this cause.
Source material: LUSA
