In an interview with Lusa agency, on the occasion of the association's 30th anniversary, Matilde Cardoso analysed the current social situation, stating that the National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People (ENIPSSA) has worked in some aspects, in others it has been more difficult, stating that she is not very critical “because there are things that are very difficult to resolve”.

“I think there will always be poverty, there has always been poverty and poverty is reflected in various situations. If the homeless in Lisbon, a few years ago, were not a problem, it is because we were able to do so and the national and international economic context was able to resolve and help this situation”, she argued.

Specifically in relation to people living in homeless situations, the president of CAIS said that the numbers are unequivocal in demonstrating that this phenomenon has been increasing.

In this regard, she recalled the recent count carried out by the Lisbon City Council, which reported that there had been a “very significant increase” in the city.

“It is a reality”, she stated, agreeing that this is also the association’s perception.

“You just have to walk around the city and see the Oriente station, which is horrible, and other areas. We do not have the capacity to measure it, but those who have the capacity to measure, to count, they prove that it has really increased, for sure”, she considered.

Migrants

Matilde Cardoso said that “there are many people living on the streets who are not Portuguese” and added that among the several hundred people supported by CAIS in 2022 and 2023, around 15% are migrants, a number that, she said, “is increasing”, although she does not yet have data for 2024.

For the person in charge, the solution does not involve restrictive measures on migration, but rather receiving “all people”, giving them the minimum conditions so that they can live in the country.

“I believe that if we prepare ourselves and have a clear strategy of what we want to do and how these people can contribute to [solving] the problems we have with the lack of labour or the aging population”, she argued.

On the other hand, she said that she believes more in the need for the country to have the capacity to adapt and create conditions to welcome migrants in the best way possible.

Still regarding the increase in the number of people living in homeless conditions, the president of CAIS argued that this issue cannot be looked at without considering the economic context and recalled that Portugal has been through a “very strong economic crisis”, from which it has not yet emerged. She pointed out that, although the people who are referred to CAIS no longer live on the streets, many continue to live in precarious situations, whether in a rented room or at a friend’s house, and that this “is a problem” because it shows that the work they have is not enough to be able to rent a house. Faced with a reality that is “different” today, Matilde Cardoso argued that it is necessary to “know how to react to problems at all times”. “Poverty will always exist. What we have to do is have the ability to react, find solutions so that it is less serious and affects fewer people”, she argued, giving as an example that although the issue of migration has been discussed for “a few years”, the country has not prepared itself for this reality.