Vulnerable people
Responses for people experiencing homelessness or in transit in Lisbon, in emergency situations or at social risk.

Emergency Unit
The Emergency Unit team supports individuals and/or families, both Portuguese and foreign, in homelessness or unstable housing situations and at serious social risk, ensuring their basic conditions of subsistence and also working on plans grounded in well-founded assessments — aimed at empowerment, skills acquisition and development, with a view to the social reintegration of individuals.
Social welfare emergency service
It responds to the needs of citizens with no fixed abode or in transit in the city of Lisbon and to emergency or social-risk situations, namely asylum seekers and applicants for refugee status.
The Núcleo de Planeamento e Intervenção Sem-Abrigo (NPISA) responds specifically to the homeless population. It is based at Cais do Gás, in Lisbon, where the bodies working with this population are represented.
Types of support
Community-based social response, delivered in an establishment, consisting of emergency or temporary accommodation for women over 18 who are victims of domestic violence.
Eligibility conditions:
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Women aged 18 or over, victims of domestic violence — whether intra-couple or intra-family — accompanied or not by children and/or young people. Exceptionally, girls under 18 may be accommodated, subject to a prior assessment of the situation of violence;
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Conclusive risk assessment carried out by the establishment’s technical team;
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Acceptance by the victim of the establishment’s regulations.
Priority admission conditions apply to women accompanied by children and/or young people.
Admission is made by referral from various bodies, including the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality, specialist victim support centres, Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa’s services, Lisbon City Council, other shelters, Instituto de Segurança Social, I.P., police bodies, health services and other entities and/or services that come into contact with domestic violence situations.
This service provides meals to individuals without financial resources, in particular the homeless population or those in transit through the city, while also offering self-care and health services.
Eligibility conditions:
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Be aged between 18 and 65, in a situation of homelessness, while no alternative response is available for their specific situation;
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Be in a situation of financial hardship, isolation, with no family or social support network;
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Be in an emergency situation, in transit through the city of Lisbon and lacking material and financial resources.
Admission is based on a proposal submitted by the reference staff member from Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa’s various services, with justification of need.
Community-based social response, delivered in an establishment, providing temporary accommodation for a period of three months — extendable up to a maximum of six months — subject to technical assessment, with emergency stays lasting 24 to 72 hours.
Eligibility conditions:
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Be aged 18 or over;
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Be in a situation of emerging housing hardship or serious social risk;
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Not be in a situation of reduced mobility that would result in difficulty in using the facilities safely and autonomously;
Show no indications of psychoactive substance use and/or socially inappropriate behaviour;
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Accept the rules of the internal regulations, by signing the declaration available for that purpose;
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Sign a declaration of consent regarding the social support provided by the centre’s technical team, by signing the declaration available for that purpose.
Access is by referral from emergency reception or social support reception services, by submitting a formal proposal to the director of the temporary accommodation centre.
Delivered in an establishment, this service is aimed at people in a situation of social risk, with a view to referral to an alternative response.
Eligibility conditions:
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Be aged 18 or over;
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Be in a situation of housing hardship or serious social risk;
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Not be in a situation of reduced mobility that would result in difficulty in using the facilities safely and autonomously;
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Show no indications of psychoactive substance use and/or socially inappropriate behaviour;
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Accept the rules of the internal regulations, by signing the declaration available for that purpose;
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Children or young people may also be admitted, provided they are accompanied by one of their parents, their legal representative or the person who has their de facto custody, provided the adult meets the requirements set out above.
Access is by referral from the institution’s services and from the National Social Emergency Line, available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, on no. 144.
Social response aimed at supporting individuals in situations of social exclusion — particularly the homeless population — through a programme of activities that supports socialisation, personal autonomy and rehabilitation of work capacity.
Eligibility conditions:
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Be aged 18 or over;
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Be a person at risk of becoming homeless or in a situation of homelessness, provided they are motivated to change;
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Priority will be given to situations where the person is in isolation, due to the absence of family or serious family breakdown or dysfunction.
The application for admission can be made by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa’s services or by external entities.
Those interested can go directly to the venues where the occupational workshops are held.
Temporary-use establishments providing effective support to people in the process of social reintegration, enhancing their potential for autonomy and valuing the development of their personal, social and professional skills, in line with the individual integration plans defined.
Eligibility conditions:
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Have no housing or socio-family and/or professional grounding;
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Be male;
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Be a Portuguese national or a national of another European Union country; non-EU nationals with a residence permit may also be considered;
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Be in an evidenced phase of abstinence from drug and/or alcohol use;
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Not have been convicted of sexual, blood or domestic violence offences, nor of offences involving extreme violence;
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Have been sentenced to less than eight years;
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Have shown satisfactory institutional behaviour during their time in the prison establishment;
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Show potential and motivation to engage in the reintegration and autonomy process;
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A previous institutional history with Santa Casa is a preferential factor.
Referral to these houses is based on specific admission criteria and requires assessment by the technical team of the applicant’s motivation and interest, as well as their life path, potential for change and expectations regarding their integration in the respective transition house.
Referrals are made by staff from the Directorate-General for Prison Services, the Directorate-General for Reintegration and Prison Services, Educational Centres and Care Homes, as well as by Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa staff supporting situations that fit the criteria for admission to one of the transition houses.
Contacts
Social welfare emergency service NPISA
Núcleo de Planeamento e Intervenção Sem Abrigo
Cais do Gás, Rua da Cintura do Porto de Lisboa
1200-109 Lisbon
* Cost of a call to the national landline network