More college-educated people seek help because of poverty

More and more college-educated people are resorting to asking for help because of poverty, Medical Aid International (AMI) warned this Wednesday, noting that “very low wages” prevent them from meeting their needs.

“An alarming number of people are already starting to appear here who actually have a more advanced education, a higher level of literacy. Even people who have completed higher education and then either cannot find something compatible with their training, or, but with very low wages,” said Lusa the director of AMI at the Porta Amiga Center in Chelas (Lisbon).

According to Salome Marquez, people mostly ask for food.

“ABOUT [pedido] this is disgusting food. [As pessoas] they go to the center (…) with this need. However, later, already in an office environment, we realized that, in addition to food, there are a number of very broad needs, such as water, electricity, gas, rent, medicines and, sometimes, exams, which the National Health Service (SNS) does not participate in. “, he stressed.

The official also indicated that the non-governmental organization (NGO) received more requests for psychological support.

“We feel that the mental health of people is becoming more fragile. That is, it is very disturbing, because there is no work, there is no economic power and, of course, all emotional stability will suffer and turn into a snowball, ”he said.

“If mental health is not in order, it is difficult for us to make a leap to improve other levels,” he added.

Salome Márquez expected Portugal’s poverty situation to “deteriorate further” in the near future.

“If these people are already vulnerable, most of them will remain, because in our total population, the majority of people of working age are unemployed. Between the ages of 16 and 66, 70% of our population are unemployed. We fear that the situation will worsen. even worse,” he said, anticipating that by the end of the year the number of requests for help could increase dramatically compared to 2022.

According to an NGO report published at the end of April, the number of new applications for CHI assistance increased by 46% in the first quarter of this year and by 53% in cases of the homeless compared to the same period last year. year.

AMI said its social services supported 5,409 people in social vulnerability in the first quarter, of which 533 were seeking help for the first time, up 46% from the same period in 2022.

Among those receiving support, 50% are men (2,692) and 50% women (2,717), with the majority of them being people of working age between 16 and 66 (70%), followed by children under the age of 16 ( 21%. ) and older than 66 years (7%).

The majority (79%) are from Portugal and 6% from Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP).

In terms of employment, 43% of persons over the age of 16 do not have any professional activity, and 41% do not have any professional training.

According to AMI, economic resources come mainly from social support such as RSI – social income (18%), pensions and retirement (10%), subsidies and institutional support (5%).