Álvaro Araújo has written open letters to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Carlos Moedas
Vila Real de Santo António is interested in showcasing its own municipal strategy to fight homelessness to national leaders.
Local mayor Álvaro Araújo has mailed two open letters to President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and Lisbon mayor, Carlos Moedas, inviting them to learn more about how VRSA has responded to its own cases of homelessness.
The Algarve municipality’s initiative was announced after the Lisbon mayor called for the involvement of more entities to find solutions to the growing number of homeless people in Portugal.
In the letter sent to president Marcelo, the mayor said he has seen his efforts to ensure the problem of homelessness “receives due attention and action from political leaders at various levels,” and Carlos Moedas’ appeals for a joint effort from entities to resolve a “national” problem.
“The small municipality of VRSA also faces a set of challenges regarding homeless people. Using various mechanisms, we have been able to implement a strategy that meets the needs of these citizens, in a logic of solidarity, support, and social integration,” says the mayor in his letter.
He explained that each case has been handled separately, through “dedicated teams from the social service and support service” and “interventions by health services” focused on the “specific characteristics of each of these citizens.”
In the municipality of VRSA alone, 33 homeless people have been identified, the local council has told Lusa news agency, stressing that the council, through its Local Housing Strategy, plans to acquire 30 homes to provide lodging for the borough’s homeless, 29 of which “were already acquired” in July 2023. There are also plans to “renovate an additional 30 homes for homeless people.”
Araújo’s letter expresses VRSA’s willingness to “share how it has acted to integrate and provide responses to these citizens,” recalling that Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa accepted Carlos Moedas’ request and will soon receive the Lisbon municipality and government representatives to discuss this issue.
In the letter sent to the mayor of Lisbon, Araújo said he agreed with Moedas that “this effort cannot be solely” the responsibility of local councils, although municipalities have “a highly relevant role” in this matter.
The mayor of VRSA also recalled that there are “mechanisms provided in the National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People (ENIPSSA),” which was “renewed by the previous government,” in the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) itself, and in local housing strategies, which allow for “a coordinated action in various areas.”
“In this sense, in a spirit of mutual support and driven by a genuine sense of the need for vigorous action by local municipalities, allow me, with humility, to invite you to come and learn how the VRSA municipal council has been acting to integrate and provide responses to these citizens,” the local mayor proposes.
