
The Association
We have been here since 2001 because we believe in inclusion in the community for groups in situations of major vulnerability and exclusion. We have come a long way, involving ourselves in several projects that have left our humanist and pragmatic mark.
Vision
To be an organization of excellence by promoting the inclusion of people in a vulnerable situation, into the community.
Mission
By reaching out to others, we promote health, harm reduction and the inclusion of these people by acting within the community.

2001
Crescer was founded by professionals specialized in areas of community intervention with excluded and vulnerable groups, and had the name “Crescer na Maior”. At the time, we were motivated to work with a younger target group. We began with various projects in the greater Lisbon and Vale to Tejo area. This became our motto.

2002 to 2003
Implementation of the project “Estacionamento sem Riscos, Arrumadores sem Exclusão”, financed by Instituto Português da Droga e da Toxicodependência (IPDT), through Outreach Teams, which goal was to work with car parkers who consume psychoactive substances. This was CRESCER’s first project in the Harm Reduction field.

2002 to 2004
We were pioneers in a primary prevention project for drug addiction and school dropout – “Abandonar a Escola, que Futuro?” – financed by IPDT and developed in the Municipality of Mação. This project covered not only young people who were in a situation of school dropout, but also those who were inserted in a school environment.

2003 to 2009
The intervention of the Outreach Teams was extended to the main neighborhoods of psychoactive substances consumption in the city of Lisbon, within the scope of the Lx Plan (Municipal Plan for the Prevention and Inclusion of Drug Addicts and Homeless People), financed by CML.

2004 to 2009
We created a Drop-in in Bairro Quinta do Cabrinha for users of psychoactive substances, where they could eat, drink coffee / tea, have access to the internet or use the phone. Computer training, plastic arts and outdoor activities were developed. This project was funded by CML.

2005
We created the Office for Professional Insertion, in partnership with IEFP, in Bairro Quinta do Cabrinha, which aims to support the unemployed population in defining or developing their path of (re) insertion in the labor market.

2006 to 2010
We developed the project ‘Crescer em Rede’ with children, young people and their families from Vale de Alcântara, with the goal of creating alternative life plans, preventing risky behaviours and creating healthy life styles. This project was developed in partnership with Alkantara Project, Médicos do Mundo and Cidater. We also managed an Activity Center and a Playroom with computer training, fine arts and painting workshops.

2009
We created 2 Outreach Teams – Eastern and Western – with different intervention areas, covering all parishes in Lisbon. These teams, currently financed by SICAD (Serviço de Intervenção nos Comportamentos Aditivos e nas Dependências) and the City Hall of Lisbon, operate daily in the main districts of psychoactive substance consumption in the city.

2012
Within the scope of the PDCM (Plano de Desenvolvimento Comunitário da Mouraria), a specific Outreach Team was created to work with the most vulnerable people (homeless people and users of psychoactive substances) in Mouraria. This project later originated the project É UMA CASA, Lisboa Housing First.

2013
We implemented É UMA CASA, Lisbon Housing First Project within the framework of PDCM (Community Development Plan of Mouraria) and supported by the Parish Council of Santa Maria Maior. This project, developed following the Housing First methodology, is targeted towards people who are in chronic homeless situations, excluded from all the social and health facilities, to whom all the existing resources have not yielded solutions. Currently, this project encompasses the whole city of Lisbon and is now also supported by the City Hall of Lisbon and by Montepio and PT Foundations.

2014
Our first Drop-In, called ‘Espaço Âncora’ opened with the main purpose of becoming a familiar meeting place for beneficiaries living in the streets but also in their homes. In this Drop-In are different psycho-social and health supporting services available as well as many recreational activities.

2014 to 2015
In partnership with the Reagir para Mudar Association, Teatro Umano Association and Santo António de Lisboa sports club, we implemented the Cultiv’art Project, under BIP/ZIP 2014 Programme, promoted and financed by the City Hall of Lisbon. The aim of this program was to come up with solutions for specific problems with urban hygiene and low employability rates of the resident population of Bairro Quinta do Cabrinha.

2016
As a follow up from our field work, City Hall of Lisbon invited CRESCER to develop the Municipal Program for the Reception of Refugees in the city of Lisbon (PMAR LX) which lead to É UMA VIDA Project. Its main goal is to work closely with the beneficiaries, promoting their integration into the community. We started the intervention of our Outreach Team É UMA RUA, Centro Sul under the Municipal Plan for the Homeless Person.

2016 to 2018
We received the Gulbenkian Cohesion Prize; We started the pilot project of screening for HIV and HCV by the Outrech Teams with the support of Associação Abraço and the Gastroenterology Service of Santa Maria Hospital (respectively).

2019
We received the Gold Medal of the Human Rights Award 2019 from Assembleia da República. We started coordinating the Refu’In project. We opened É UM RESTAURANTE. We won the candidacies of the Outreach Teams for another 4 years of the project, financed by SICAD and CML.

2020
We won the António Sérgio Cooperation and Solidarity Award with the project É UMA CASA, Lisboa Housing First. We also won the Caixa Geral de Depósitos “Caixa Social” Award and REN AGIR Award for the É UM RESTAURANTE project.

Culture
We carry out research in our area of intervention, aiming to disseminate technical knowledge, produce scientific knowledge and implement good international practices, as well as social innovation projects in the Harm Reduction field.
We want to promote health, harm reduction and community integration of vulnerable populations through community intervention projects.
We want to improve the living conditions of people who consume legal and illegal psychoactive substances in the city of Lisbon.
We want to contribute to reducing the transmission and for the eradication of infectious diseases (such as Hepatitis C, HIV, Tuberculosis).

We believe in drug liberalization
We believe that a regulated market will avoid a parallel and clandestine economy, avoiding criminal practice and, thus, reducing associated crime levels.
Liberalization makes it possible for organized crime to leave the drug trade, allowing us to regulate and control access to the market (that is, to prescribe, license, control sales to minors, etc.).
Drug users will be able to do this in a less damaging way to their health.
We want to implement Assisted Drug Consumption Rooms in Portugal
Although there is a groundbreaking legal framework and drug consumption has been decriminalised in Portugal, we are still confronted with consumption out in the open, which lacks good health conditions. Assisted drug consumption rooms have proven to be another valid strategy for Harm Reduction: reducing risks of contagious and infectious diseases, reducing deaths by overdose, consolidating health education and promoting contact with other social and health facilities.
We defend the legalization of prostitution
This way, we believe we are protecting sex workers’ human rights, who are forced to live on the fringes of the law. Decriminalising prostitution also means improving health conditions for sex workers.

Intervention and Population
We intervene throughout the city of Lisbon, with a greater focus on areas where vulnerable populations predominate, namely:
Bairro da Cruz Vermelha
Casal Ventoso
Igreja dos Anjos
Intendente
Jardim Constantino
Mouraria
Quinta do Lavrado, Xabregas
Igreja dos Anjos
Bairro da Cruz Vermelha
Casal Ventoso
Intendente
Jardim Constantino
Mouraria
Quinta do Lavrado
Xabregas
By ‘population in a vulnerabe situation’ we mean those who find themselves excluded from health and social facilities, not benefiting from their own rights as citizens. Often these people are psycho-logically, emotionally and physically very fragile.
First of all, they are PEOPLE, just like us, who have specific characteristics and deserve our help and support, such as:
Drug users
Alcohol consumers
Sex workers
Homeless people
People seeking asylum
Our Team

Abdenour Refes
Intercultural Mediator

Américo Lopes
Administrative

Ana Pais
Coordinator

Ary Teixeira
Psychologist

Adan Shiekh
Monitor

Américo Nave
Executive Director

Andreia Alves
Coordinator

BIanca Almeida
Social Technician

Albina Sousa
Monitor

Amish Gurung
kitchen assistant

Andreia Pereira
Social Worker

Carla Ferreira
Administrative

Alfredo Ferreira
Monitor

Ana Nunes
Psychologist

Antónia Cabrita
Educational technician

Catarina Baptista
Social Educator
Respect of Human Rights
To guarantee that everybody benefits from all the established rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and are treated as unique human beings with specific needs and wills.

Catarina Bento
Coordinator

Cátia Moreira
Doctor

Cristiana Merendeiro
Coordinator

Diana Rosa
Psychologist

Catarina Homem
Coordinator

Clara de Oliveira
Social Worker

Débora Duque
Employability Technician

Eduarda Sanches
Psychologist

Catarina Nobre
Comunication

Cláudia Duarte
Employability Technician

Diana Gaspar
Psychologist

Ema Rosário
Social Technician

Cátia Faísca
Social Worker

Cláudia Pereira
Psychologist

Diana Pereira
Monitor

Élio Lampreia
Coordinator
Community Integration
To promote the inclusion of vulnerable people into the community, by encouraging their active par-ticipation.

Elisangela Silva
Administrative

Ganesh Pradhan
Cook

Hélder Trigo
Supervisor

Inês Pinto
Psychologist

José Fernando
Monitor

Filipe Garcia
Monitor

Glória Vega
Social work specialist

Ilda Paulino
Monitor

Inês Sousa
Psychologist

José Agostinho
Head Waiter

Florencia Salvia
Coordinator

Gonçalo Duarte
Psychologist

Inês Correia
Psychologist

Joana Branco
Administrative

Juliana Henriques
Social Educator

Francisco Nunes
Psychologist

Halima Rezaie
Intercultural Mediator

Inês Marinho
Nurse

João Gorgulho
Maintenance Technician

Luís Fernandes
Kitchen Assistant
Empowerment
To promote the (re)acquisition of personal and social skills in order to empower and give autonomy to our beneficiaries.

Maria Bento Carmona
Coordinator

Mariana Neto
Case Manager

Marina Barreto
Operational Technician

Matilde Pedreira
Case Manager

Milton Furtado
Monitor

Maria Piedade
Social Worker

Mariana Pombo
Social Worker

Margarida Sousa
Social Worker

Massoud Samadi
Intercultural Mediator

Mónica Rocha
Coordinator

Mariana Carvalho
Fundraiser

Mariana Sequeira
Psychologist

Marta Mendes
Head Waiter

Melissa Carnoto
Psychologist

Mariana Gomes
Social Worker

Mariana Soares
Social Worker

Martinho Dias
Monitor

Miguel Silva
Table Server
Proximity
To maintain interpersonal relationships with the target groups as the driving force of our strategic action plan.

Naseer Darweesh
Intercultural Mediator

Ovil Julien
Kitchen Assistant

Raquel Pereira
Psychologist

Sara Campos
Psychologist

Nathia Balza
Administrative

Paula Ribeiro
Cook

Raúl Júnior
Monitor

Sara Oliveira
Jurist

Nuno Maneta
Monitor

Pedro Guerra
Head Waiter

Renato Pinto
Monitor

Sofia Della Casa
Social Technician

Octávio Patrício
Financial

Raquel Colaço
Psychologist

Rita Oliveira
Psychologist

Sofia Diniz
Social Technician
We reach out
to vulnerable people in order to improve their lives through Harm Reduction.

Sofia Henriques
Psychologist

Tatiana Barão
Social Worker

Walid Aichi
Monitor

Sofia Picão
Psychologist

Teresa Bettencourt
Coordinator

Sofia Simões
Coordinator

Teresa Guimarães
Psychologist

Solange Ascensão
Coordinator

Thaniz Silva
Administrative
Awards
The work we do on a daily basis has been recognized in many ways, one of which is through prizes and awards. Our many thanks for those!








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