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Municipal Department of Social Assistance seeks partnerships to develop new projects
Published on 05/01/2021 - 22:52 | Updated on 06/01/2021 - 15:52
Action by the Municipal Department of Social Welfare team in downtown Rio. Photo: Nathalia Dantas/Disclosure In search of partnerships for new projects, the municipal secretary of Social Welfare of Rio de Janeiro, Laura Carneiro, met with the president of Fecomércio RJ, Antônio Florêncio de Queiroz Júnior, on Tuesday (05/01). The meeting is part of a proposal to get closer to other sectors of organized civil society and the business community. Also participating in Tuesday's meeting were regional directors Regina Pinho (Sesc RJ), Sérgio Ribeiro (Senac RJ) and Fábio Soares, from Strategic Planning, Budget and Engineering at Sesc.
– We are starting the conversations – said Laura.
On Monday (04/01), the secretary participated in an integrated action to welcome and map the homeless population and spoke with some of these people. In the Candelária region, in the city center, Laura managed to convince a 40-year-old man who refused to go to a shelter, claiming that the facilities were in precarious conditions. He was sent to a place at the Sambadrome, where he received a shower and food and will be monitored by the technical team to reintegrate into society.
Laura wants to understand the reality of this population, now even more vulnerable due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and her priority is to renovate the shelters in the City Hall's social assistance network, which are in a state of disrepair.
– We are working to transform shelters into truly welcoming places – he emphasized.
Reception operation started on the first day of the year
The secretary added that the agency's main goals are the reintegration and inclusion of vulnerable populations, as provided for in the National Social Assistance Policy. The mapping and reception work began on January 1 and will continue for the next two weeks. The teams will travel throughout the city, as well as to BRT stations.
The priority is to resolve the most urgent problems, such as obtaining documents and personal hygiene items, in addition to distributing masks to those who do not have them. As of Tuesday afternoon (5), the operation had carried out 515 services, 170 referrals and 56 receptions, in addition to distributing 315 masks, 368 snacks and 326 bottles of water.
– We will map the real situation on the streets to improve public policies aimed at this population – said Laura, adding: The idea is to implement an integrated flow between different services and agencies so that those who need it have access to the network and assistance benefits.
What brings people to the streets
Family conflicts are the main reasons people end up on the streets, according to a census carried out by the City Hall in 2020. The study identified 7.272 homeless people, most of whom are concentrated in the City Center (1.442), are male, black or brown (79,6%), and between the ages of 31 and 49. The pandemic was the reason 752 of these people ended up on the streets, due to the loss of their jobs (34%) or their homes (19%).
Along with these actions, the Secretariat is also working on implementing new programs and projects, such as the inclusion of adolescents in the digital world; for adolescent-adults (18 to 25 years old); and for children and adolescents.
– This is our mission, and we hope to count on the business community, organized civil society and all of Rio de Janeiro society to guide this new social development policy – concluded the secretary.
