Lisbon Chamber adviser says taking down tents for Pope’s visit is ‘false’

The adviser for human and social rights at the Lisbon Chamber said on Tuesday that “it’s a lie” that the municipality is removing the tents of the homeless because of World Youth Day (WYD).

“It seems that we were hinted that we forcibly took away the tents of the homeless. I tell you emphatically: this is a lie, this is a lie, and here we have images of those who were there before, during and after,” Councilor Sophia Athaide (CDS-PP) said, answering questions from members of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly.

The mayor said the concerted municipal interventions with the homeless that took place in several vulnerable areas of the city, including last week on Avenida Almirante Reis, “are not new and will continue.” in decent conditions, leaving the tents with a roof.

“There were people who accepted the reception, there were people who chose to stay in tents,” said the person in charge of the human and social rights portfolio.

CDS-PP municipal deputy Margarida Neto asked for clarification on the idea that the tents are being removed due to the visit of the Pope as part of the WYD, to which the councilor assured that the actions with people who are in the shelter for the unemployed “have nothing to do with this” . with WDM.

Sole PAN MP Antonio Morgado Valente asked about this situation and wanted to know where the homeless are being taken in, as according to the information he has, the Santa Barbara Barracks Reception Center is not taking in anyone else, given that the space is due to close at the end of September.

In response, the councilor reported that 89 homeless people, namely 15 women and 74 men, were currently living in the Santa Barbara Barracks, and the municipal services registered 15 admissions between 10 and 14 July, namely “five Algerians, one Brazilian, six Portuguese, two Angolans. and one Romanian”, of which 12 were part of the Santa Barbara barracks, one woman went to the Mae d’Agua Temporary Accommodation Center (CATMA) and the other two went to Blessed.

Miguel Graça, an independent MP for Cidadãos Por Lisboa (elected by the PS/Livre coalition), asked about an alternative to the planned closure of the Santa Barbara barracks, trying to find out if “this solution would also be in the city center or the idea of ​​hiding these people on the outskirts of Lisbon?”.

In response, Sophia Atheide pointed out that in search of a central location for an ambulance reception point, Estamo, the manager of public real estate, informed the council that it did not have a property in the central part that could serve this end.

According to the adviser, there are also no objects in the municipal heritage for which this answer could be obtained.

The council considered developing a new center within the city’s concessions of the former Miguel Bombarda Hospital, but “these concessions had already been finalized in the previous executive body”, namely a school for 1,000 children, a kindergarten and two cultural centres. supports, the adviser said, adding that the property has also already been identified as available for rent.

The mayor said that the possibility of being in the palace on Rua Gomes Freire was also being explored, but “this is also not possible because it was granted in concession under the affordable income program.”

Sofia Ataide lamented the politicization of the homeless, referring to the fact that in 2022 the executive branch made “the biggest investment ever” in this area – “about six million euros”, taking in 1,043 people.