The head of the Portuguese Labor Party’s list for the Funchal City Council in Madeira in the local elections today defended the creation of a shelter where homeless people can spend the night.

Raquel Coelho, also the national leader of the PTP, was speaking to journalists at the start of the election campaign for the local elections on October 12.

The party met with the management of Casa de Saúde São João de Deus, a healthcare facility specializing in psychiatry, mental health, and psychosocial rehabilitation. It integrated continuing care, located on the outskirts of Funchal.

The candidate said that a hostel was planned in 2016, a project that has since been abandoned, stressing that the City Council (PSD/CDS-PP) has abandoned real estate “that can be rehabilitated to address the lack of accommodation for the homeless.”

“There is no point in people coming to Casa de São João de Deus for treatment, or to Hospital Doutor Nélio Mendonça, if they then have nowhere to sleep. We are talking here about a minimum requirement for human dignity, and that is why the Portuguese Labor Party is committed, upon reaching the Funchal City Council, whether in the council or in the Municipal Assembly, to demand and guarantee a space for the homeless,” said Raquel Coelho.

The head of the list insisted that this measure must be implemented, either in agreement with the Diocese of Funchal or with the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP) itself.

“Because, in fact, one of the biggest problems we face today with the homeless is that people go for treatment at the Casa do Saúde de São João de Deus, they are admitted to hospital for various reasons, but at the end of their treatment, they have nowhere to go, they are left on the streets again, left to their addiction,” she stressed.

The candidate for the PTP, a party with no representation in the local government of Funchal, stated that official figures indicate around 130 homeless people in the city of Funchal, “but it is estimated that there are many more.”

Raquel Coelho also stated that additional treatment facilities and more locations at the Casa de Saúde São João de Deus are needed, acknowledging, however, that this is the responsibility of the Madeira executive.

The current Funchal City Council executive is composed of six councilors from the PSD/CDS-PP coalition, headed by Cristina Pedra, and five without portfolio from the Confiança coalition, led by the PS.

Two coalitions – CDU and PSD-CDS-PP – and 12 parties are running for the Funchal City Council: Nova Direita, PAN, Livre, RIR, Chega, PS, ADN, JPP, PTP MPT, IL, and BE. As stated, the elections are on Sunday, October 12th.

In Diário de Notícias-Madeira

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