The mayor of Lisbon asked the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister to hold hearings to jointly address the problem of homelessness in the city, which has worsened since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking on the sidelines of the presentation of the 25 new members of the municipal police, Carlos Moedas told reporters that he had sent two letters to Marcelo Rebel de Souza and Luis Montenegro because he believed that “efforts to solve the problem cannot be the responsibility of the mayors alone.”
“I launched a seven-year plan in Lisbon to really try to do as much as possible for the homeless, a €70 million plan, but it can’t just be Lisbon and that’s why I called my colleagues in the capital region from Lisbon. watch together [para a questão]”, he began with an explanation.
He noted that Lisbon’s new city plan expects to double the thousand beds in reception centers. However, in the understanding of the social democrat, these spaces “cannot exist only in the municipality of Lisbon” and must exist in other municipalities.
“But the responsibility for these efforts cannot rest solely with the mayors,” he insisted, recalling that the situation near the Anjos Church – with several concentrated immigrant tents – cannot be resolved by local authorities alone, taking into account that many of the people who stay there overnight, “they don’t even have documents.”
According to Carlos Moedas, “there is a national problem,” hence his request to the government and the President of the Republic: “We must all work together to solve this problem,” he emphasized.
Like the mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, the mayor of the capital understands that the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum – AIMA “is not working.”
“You have to act, you have to be available, because people can’t wait years to be seen,” he said.
Moedas said he spoke with Presidential Minister Leitan Amaro, who assured him of “his support.”
“The homeless problem is very serious. It started increasing after Covid-19 and after the pandemic, this is a problem for the city. Some organizations, such as the Vida e Paz association, estimate at least another 25% of homeless people. they distribute food. This is a problem that has increased, we have also increased assistance, but the council cannot be alone,” he stressed, recalling that “half of the reception vacancies” at the national level are in Lisbon.
Carlos Moedas invited the presidents of the 18 municipalities of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (AML) to a meeting on May 10 to discuss measures, move forward with a “task force” and create reception centers to integrate the homeless people who exist in them. agglomeration.
However, only Oeiras executive presidents Isaltino Morais (independent) and Cascais Carlos Carreiras (PSD) were present and admitted that they were moving forward with a “task force” on Lisbon. Barreiro (PS), Almada (PS) and Seixal (CDU) were represented by advisers or technical specialists who follow the problem.
Lisbon is the city most affected by this phenomenon and currently has around 3,000 homeless people, 300 of whom are actually on the streets.