Minister Martin Lema reported that between September 6 and October 15, a call will be open for civil organizations and social cooperatives to present social innovation projects aimed at people who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The initiatives presented will be valued by the Institute of Global Homelessness and the Center for Development Studies.
The call, which was presented this Tuesday 6 at the ministerial headquarters, encourages the formulation of sustainable projects that generate an effective and innovative response to this social problem. The Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH), a leading international organization on the problem, and the Center for Development Studies (CED) collaborate with the initiative.
The act was also attended by the undersecretary of the portfolio, Andrea Brugman; the national director of Social Protection, Fernanda Auersperg; the director of the Coordination Division of Programs for Homeless People, Gabriel Cunha, and the director of the CED, Agustín Iturralde.
“When we talk about homeless people, we cannot take it as a right, we must take it as a dramatic situation that requires the maximum number of responses,” emphasized the head of the Ministry of Social Development (Mides), Martín Lema.
He also reported that the budget is 150 million pesos and that the initiatives will complement the existing tools to serve homeless people. He added that two orientation workshops will be held on Tuesday, September 13 and 20, which will be offered by the CED with the organizations interested in the project.
The call is addressed to social cooperatives and civil society organizations interested in the design, proposal and eventual implementation of social innovation projects that include objectives of prevention, socio-labour insertion, 24-hour accommodation or housing alternatives for adults in need. homeless or at risk of being homeless in Montevideo and the metropolitan area.
The projects must contemplate at least one of the following situations: need for mental health support, problematic substance use, institutionalization trajectories (graduates from the INAU, penitentiary institutions or others), use of nightclubs or daily procedures for accommodation. Initiatives aimed at people who are homeless for the first time and those who, due to their social vulnerability, are at risk of being homeless will also be included.
Mides will implement instances of consultation and guidance for interested entities, in order to contribute to the best dissemination of the objective of the call, as well as to share international experiences and enable exchanges.
Lema outlined actions that have already been completed, such as an increase from 0 to 205 in the quotas for homeless people with links to addictions, transfer of the National Directorate for the Liberated (Dinali) to Mides, a greater number of night hostels and supported housing, operation of the service 0800-8798 24 hours a day, attention by street teams and the fitting out of 8 shelters where you can go with pets.
