The Vice-President of the Regional Government of the Azores, Artur Lima, said today that the Regional Plan for Social Inclusion and Citizenship (PRISC) represents a “new approach to poverty” aimed at “breaking its intergenerational reproduction” and “reducing its incidence in the region.”

Coordinated by Professor José Manuel Mendes from the Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, PRISC has already been delivered to the Government of the Azores, and its public discussion is expected to begin soon.

“We believe that PRISC is a truly integrated response, with articulated and coherent actions and measures, to tackle the persistent problem of poverty and thus include citizens in situations of social vulnerability,” argues the Vice-President of the Government.

According to Artur Lima, PRISC is based on “articulation between different areas of intervention” and includes “five fundamental strategic dimensions”: income, education and training, work, housing, and health.

“Including people means ensuring equal educational opportunities for all, as well as strengthening income and employment policies. But including people also means improving families’ housing conditions and enabling them to access quality healthcare,” he said.

The Vice-President of the Government stressed that PRISC aims to take into account the “life cycle of the entire population”, without forgetting to “consider the particular needs of especially fragile groups such as people with disabilities, people with mental illness or individuals with chronic illnesses”.

The general objective of PRISC, which will cover 2024 to 2028, is to reduce monetary poverty by 50% in the Autonomous Region of the Azores by 2028.

This Plan will still have to be analyzed and approved at a meeting of the Government Council.

Press release from the Azorean Government (https://portal.azores.gov.pt/web/comunicacao/news-detail?id=13919847)

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)