REACH_U | Euro Testing Week

REACH_U | Euro Testing Week

REACH_U | Euro Testing Week

This Spring Euro Testing Week, get to know our project REACH_U – Point-of-Care for Screening and Treatment of Hepatitis C in a Community Context.

REACH_U is a project for the micro-elimination of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) addressed to people in extremely vulnerable situations exposed to its contraction and spread, namely people who use psychoactive substances, people in situations of homelessness, migrants and refugees. It started in December 2020, following the work that has been developed by the Outreach Teams.

This project aims to respond to the need to bring health care closer to the community context. Specifically, it consists of a specialized Outreach Team (nurse and peer) that meets people in their own environment (such as abandoned houses, woods, open consumption sites, etc.), promoting access to education for HCV health, testing and treatment.

This way, it is guaranteed that the whole process – testing, analysis, specialist medical appointment and availability of medication – is carried out without going to the hospital, while taking place in a container and familiar place in the community, which enhances adherence and, therefore, results in the micro-elimination of the virus.

O REACH_U conta com o financiamento do Portugal 2020, da Câmara Municipal de Lisboa e da AbbVie.

Five years of the project É UMA VIDA

Five years of the project É UMA VIDA

This month marks the 5th year of the project É UMA VIDA.

É UMA VIDA. was designed to welcome and include refugees in our community, mainly coming from countries of the Middle East, Eastern and Western Africa, arrived in Portugal under the Municipal Reception Program. They left their countries due to armed conflicts, generalized violence or massive violation of human rights.

The CRESCER team closely monitors the beneficiaries, promoting their inclusion and designing with them a life project, with a view to their autonomy, including their own housing solution.

We share the impact of the project along these five years on the ground:

  • – 220 people monitored, 117 of those people arrived alone and 103 as a family;
  • – 16 different nationalities;
  • – 220 people with accesss to temporary autonomous housing and with access to a specialized team;
  • – 52 children and young people in school age, all integrated at the school of the place of residence;
  • – 5 babies born during the project;
  •  Dozens of advocacy actions and hundreds of meetings with beneficiaries.

Após estes cinco anos de projeto assinalamos ainda grandes dificuldades nas respostas dos serviços da comunidade, que muitas vezes não são adequados ao público-alvo, bem como demoras no SEF e respetivo processo de asilo injustificáveis. Continuaremos a lutar por uma verdadeira inclusão de todos, trabalhando lado a lado com os nossos beneficiários.