Welfare workers have warned of a new breed of homeless people appearing on the streets of the capital.
Whereas in the past those living rough tended to be male, in their 50s and with a history of drug dependency or mental illness, homeless people nowadays are often much younger.
In a bid to map this new reality, 874 volunteers from Santa Casa de Misericórdia spent a night tramping Lisbon’s streets last week and found couples, women and even children among the capital’s homeless population.
“This means we have to look at this reality, and its solutions, in a different way,” Santa Casa’s social welfare director Rita Valadas told Lusa news agency.
In the city’s Gare do Oriente railway station alone, volunteers discovered as many as 65 people living rough – five of whom were women between the ages of 40-60.
