The City of São Paulo signed an agreement with an international organization on Monday (7) to develop strategies for sheltering and reducing the homeless population in the capital city.
The collaboration with the Institute of Global Homelessness involves regular meetings with mayors from eight cities—London and Manchester (England), Helsinki (Finland), London, Medicine Hat, and Edmonton (Canada), Arica (Chile), and Houston (USA).
The goal is to implement the "housing first" concept, already in practice in these locations, into the municipal shelter program called Vila Reencontro. This term refers to a housing approach that prioritizes providing housing for vulnerable individuals.
In effect since July of last year, the Reencontro program consists of communities of 18-square-meter houses designed to house homeless residents. The project was launched by the administration of Mayor Ricardo Nunes (MDB) as an initiative inspired by the "housing first" principles, although residents have controlled access and receive meals in containers, which doesn't fully align with the autonomy outlined in the foreign concept.
Translated by Cassy Dias