"Since I took over this responsibility, the value was increased from 19 to 21 euros, in a meeting with the entities and according to the entities", said Sofia Athayde, adding that the Social Security that co-finances the "same entities should also follow" the increase from the local authority. The councilwoman elected by the PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança coalition spoke at the permanent commission for Human and Social Rights, Citizenship and Transparency and Fight against Corruption of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly (AML), in a videoconference hearing, within the scope of the proposal for the Municipal Plan for the Homeless (PMPSSA) 2024-2030. The non-registered municipal deputy Daniela Serralha, elected by the Citizens for Lisbon (CPL) movement, asked the councilwoman if an increase in support for non-governmental organizations that support the homeless in the city of Lisbon was planned, which complain that "the value is clearly too low, it is clearly too low" in relation to what they receive. "The associations are distressed, the situation in the city is glaring, it is frightening", she pointed out. The municipal official responsible for monitoring the PMPSSA explained that the document "foresees an investment of 70 million euros" for the seven years, "aims at 23 objectives, has 89 measures, in five intervention fronts", in the sense of "more intervention, intervention in street context, accommodation, social integration, knowledge and communication". "This new plan is considered innovative, it foresees an increase in the number of accommodation places, made available by the municipal council, therefore, from the current 1,050 we go to 1,700, that is, we have an increase of 62% of places", said Sofia Athayde. "We also have as a strategic objective to reduce the time spent on the street for people who are homeless, in this case also for people who are homeless and in a homeless condition", said the mayor. The coordinator of the plan team, Paulo Santos, told the municipal deputies that the council is committed to "preventing people from returning to homelessness", and creating "a technical street team in the city", which allows for a "qualitative leap" with all the valences, "from the language issue", to social and mental health support. "Have a multidisciplinary team, so that it can discuss cases more quickly", he stressed. The municipal deputy António Morgado Valente (PAN) appealed to the councilwoman that "the most appropriate response would be to create a public veterinary hospital, within the scope of the effort of the need for homeless people, and to help them care for their pets. "The situation is out of control, we are on the verge of a disaster, just walk around the city of Lisbon, just see what is happening in the historic center of the city to realize that there is no solution according to the program they previously presented", said Bruno Mascarenhas, municipal deputy of Chega. The municipal deputy Margarida Neto (CDS-PP) valued the PMPSSA, noting that the situation of the homeless has taken "a great visibility in the city, which worries everyone", even though "now they join the homeless" of always, "the large number of illegal immigrants". The secretary of the assembly committee noted that the plan refers to "around 400 homeless people and that, among them, there are 28 people who have been on the street for more than 10 years" and 145 have been on the street for about five years, the vast majority with "mental health, alcohol and drug problems", warning that, in many cases, "the support after hospitalization fails". The councilwoman said that, in 2022, the Lisbon City Council and the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa "welcomed 2,744 people" and the numbers for 2023 will soon be known. Sofia Athayde accused the elected members of the Left Bloc in the municipal executive of "attempting to take political advantage, in which they superimposed political considerations on solid technical methodologies, which had been validated by all the partners of the municipal council", by approving the PMPSSA with 400 more houses in the "Housing First" project (accompanied transition houses) than planned. According to the councilwoman, the plan includes "the forecast and the need to evaluate the 'housing first' response", through "an external scientific evaluation", given the change in the profile of the people, the 400 houses contracted and "four different entities managing this response", under penalty of not being "giving the best possible response". The proposal was approved, by majority, with the favorable votes of the Novos Tempos coalition (PSD/CDS-PP/MPT/PPM/Aliança) and the abstention of PS, PCP, Livre, Bloco de Esquerda and CPL, during a private meeting of the municipal executive, on Thursday, after the introduction of the BE proposal. The municipal assembly committee will only decide next week whether it will be possible to schedule the PMPSSA proposal for the next plenary session, since some annexes to the document were still missing. Read Also: Lisbon City Council guarantees responses for homeless immigrants in Anjos (Portuguese version)