Inês de Sousa Real has prioritized the “revival of housing policies,” emphasizing the need not to neglect individuals experiencing homelessness and calling for increased public investment in initiatives like the ‘housing first’ program. This approach was omitted from the State Budget by the “hand of AD,” she lamented.
The leader of PAN spoke to journalists following a visit to the headquarters of the Crescer association in Lisbon, which supports socially vulnerable individuals, and to the home of one of the beneficiaries of the ‘housing first’ program—a model that argues individuals must have permanent housing to transition off the streets.
After meeting with Crescer, Inês de Sousa Real expressed regret that AD “during campaign time, pledges strong support for these causes,” despite opposing PAN’s proposals in parliament for the State Budget to set concrete targets for providing houses to individuals experiencing homelessness.
“We face an immigration issue (…) but it should not overshadow other serious issues, such as poverty and the eradication of shanty town situations or homelessness. It is crucial to address various policies, and here Luís Montenegro has failed completely, doing nothing but rejecting proposals from other parties,” she criticized.
Inês de Sousa Real further highlighted that the eradication of shanty towns is a major sustainable development goal of the Agenda 2030, yet “Portugal is far from achieving this objective.”
Following her visit to a beneficiary’s home under the ‘housing first’ project developed by Crescer, Sousa Real added that the Government has neglected policies aimed at supporting individuals in extreme vulnerability, such as those experiencing homelessness and alcoholism. She called for a “humane policy to support victims” in contrast to the “discussions that parties like Chega aim to bring to the Assembly of the Republic.”
For the leader of PAN, the situation of these individuals represents a “social scourge” that requires an urgent response through public policies. Sousa Real also mentioned that the AD Government has backtracked on “social and humanitarian” policies, with associations stepping in to fill the gaps.
“Indeed, it is harsh to hear individuals state that their life expectations often boil down to something as basic as having a home, because no one deserves or wants to be on the street. As a state, we are failing, we are indeed regressing from the path Portugal was taking to combat shanty towns, poverty, and vulnerability,” she added.
