É UMA CASA

É UMA CASA Project, Mouraria Housing First was implemented in January 2013, within the framework of the Community Development Plan of Mouraria. The results were so impressively positive that this project began to encompass the parish of Santa Maria Maior. Subsequently, it stepped up and has currently extended to the entire city of Lisbon, with the name of É UMA CASA, Lisboa Housing first.

Financing Partners

Target Group

Chronically homeless people

People for which all existent social and health answers are inadequate

People who are excluded from these facilities and without any kind of monitoring

People who do not embrace and adapt to the solutions available

People in an extreme physical and psychological vulnerability

People with comorbidity

Our Mission

To help eradicate situations of chronic homelessness in Lisbon, through the inclusion of the target group into the community.

Our Action

Areas of action

City of Lisbon

Working Hours

7 days per week

Prevention Team

24h/365 days per year

Methodology

Housing First

To provide services geared towards the beneficiary

To facilitate immediate access to permanent housing

To respect personal choices

To promote access to the main social and health facilities of the residential area

Harm Reduction

To provide an individualized approach in which beneficiaries are the main partners

To assign them a case manager

To perform long-term home monitoring by working on three stages of development: cognitive, relational and organizational

To provide a minimum of 6 visits/month in the housing context

To promote access to different resources in the community

To promote empowerment and reintegration into the community

Activities

To give support in the transition from the street to a home

To give psycho-social support

To give psychological support

To mediate health and social facilities in the residential area

To promote an autonomous attitude in daily activities

To give support with daily activities

To provide weekly meetings with all the beneficiaries

To provide medical assessment

To help with drug prescription and administration

To distribute and exchange aseptic material for consumption- Syringe kits, pipe kits and sheets of silver foil

To distribute condoms

To distribute informational material

To educate and raise awareness for consumption practices with lower risks

To give assistance in how to use community resources

To search for house rentals in real estate market

To set up a home

Our assessment confirms the results of Housing First: this is a lower cost solution when compared with Shelter Centers. It is intended that beneficiaries become active in this project, in their community and alongside political decision makers.

Technical Team

Psychologist, Social Worker, Social Educator, Psychiatrist and Monitor

Testimonials 

"Two angels appeared to me in the street and asked me if I wanted a house."

WLF_CM

"Before, I only had the pavement in the street, now I have a house key"

CL

"If I had stayed in the street any longer my life would have deteriorated because in the street nobody takes care of us."

C

"The person who’s in a house is sorted out, not out in the street... I am not out in the open anymore as many others still are."

A

Would you like to know more about our project?
We are available and will gladly share more details with you.