How can someone rebuild their life living on the street?
Novo Dia association tracks 160 homeless people but can only shelter 30, revealing a critical gap in social services concentrated in urban areas. Lack of affordable housing, mental health challenges, and employment barriers create structural conditions forcing people onto streets, not personal failures.
- Novo Dia tracks 160 homeless people but can shelter only 30
- Housing exclusion crisis concentrated on São Miguel island
- Housing First program offers immediate housing with 24-hour support
- World Day for the Eradication of Poverty marked October 17
On World Day for the Eradication of Poverty, experts warn that homelessness in the Azores is a systemic crisis, not a personal choice. Current social services can only accommodate 30 of 160 homeless individuals tracked by local organizations.
Friday marked the World Day for the Eradication of Poverty, and the message from those working on the ground in the Azores was unambiguous: no one chooses to sleep on the street. Hélder Fernandes, a psychologist and coordinator at Novo Dia, an association focused on social inclusion, put it plainly—the services and shelter options available remain severely inadequate, especially as housing exclusion has worsened across the region, particularly on the island of São Miguel.
The numbers tell a stark story. Novo Dia tracks 160 people without stable housing, yet the organization can only provide shelter for 30 of them. That gap—130 people with nowhere to go—reflects a broader failure of the social safety net. The problem is compounded by geography: the few services that do exist cluster in urban centers, which concentrates the visible homeless population in specific areas and risks deepening both the stigma faced by those without homes and the social tensions in those neighborhoods. To address this crisis, Fernandes argues, the region needs more housing and shelter options, must work to prevent people from becoming homeless in the first place, and must create genuine pathways out of homelessness for those already living it.
Without a stable place to live, the basic work of rebuilding a life becomes nearly impossible. How can someone find and keep a job without a fixed address? How do they manage their health, let alone their mental health? How do they repair relationships with family or rebuild social connections? These are not rhetorical questions in Fernandes's framing—they are the daily obstacles facing the people his organization serves. The lack of housing is not a symptom of poverty; it is a social emergency in itself. To truly help people exit homelessness, support systems need to be spread across different municipalities, not concentrated in Ponta Delgada. People need access to housing, health care, employment support, and social protection services where they actually live.
The causes of homelessness in the Azores are structural, not personal. Rising housing costs, scarce affordable apartments, difficulty finding work, and mental health challenges—especially untreated depression and anxiety—create conditions that push people onto the streets. The stigma that follows makes everything worse. Being labeled homeless generates stress, deepens isolation, and makes it harder to access the very services that might help. On São Miguel, a network of associations, nonprofits, and the Ponta Delgada municipal government have begun coordinating efforts: meal distribution, medication support, temporary shelter. Novo Dia has launched a Housing First program, backed by the city, that offers immediate access to individual housing units paired with round-the-clock support from trained staff. The model treats housing not as a reward for good behavior but as the foundation upon which someone can begin to rebuild.
Yet even these innovations cannot meet the need. Fernandes is clear about what has to change: adequate, affordable housing must be available; incomes must be sufficient to cover actual living costs; employment support must be real and tailored to people's circumstances; and mental health care must be accessible and prioritized. These are not separate problems requiring separate solutions. They are interconnected, and they require coordinated policy action across multiple sectors.
But Fernandes also points to something beyond policy. He emphasizes the role of collective awareness and community action—neighbors, local associations, service providers, and institutions working together to build networks of support that go beyond individual charity. The question, he suggests, should not be directed at people without homes, asking why they made the choices that led them there. Instead, society should ask itself why it has failed to guarantee housing as a fundamental right, why it tolerates the conditions that create homelessness. That reframing—from blame to accountability—is where change begins. Fernandes leaves a final message: this is the moment to implement concrete, strategic measures, to act with solidarity and humanity, and to recognize that each person has a role to play in building a more just and inclusive community. The crisis is urgent. The solutions exist. What remains is the will to act.
Citas Notables
The available responses and services remain very limited, especially as housing exclusion worsens across the region.— Hélder Fernandes, psychologist and coordinator of Novo Dia
Instead of pointing fingers at those without homes, we should question the factors that drive poverty and housing exclusion.— Hélder Fernandes
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Fernandes keep saying homelessness isn't a choice? Doesn't that risk sounding naive about addiction, mental illness, or poor decisions?
He's not denying those things exist. He's saying that the decision to sleep on the street is never the preferred option—it's what happens when every other option has closed. The choice isn't between homelessness and something better. It's between homelessness and nothing.
But the Novo Dia organization is tracking 160 people and can only shelter 30. That's a massive failure. Why does the article frame it as a systemic problem rather than a resource problem?
Because it is both. Yes, they need more beds. But the real issue is that those 30 beds are probably all in Ponta Delgada, which means people have to cluster there to access them. If you're homeless in a smaller town, you either move to the city or you have nothing. That's not a resource problem you can solve with more money alone—it's a design problem.
The Housing First model sounds promising. Is it actually working, or is it just one program that helps a handful of people while the crisis continues?
It's working for the people in it. But Fernandes is honest: it's not enough. Housing First is a proof of concept that shows what's possible when you treat housing as a foundation, not a reward. The real question is whether the government will scale it up and fund it properly across the islands.
What struck me most was the point about stigma making everything worse. How does that actually work?
Imagine you're homeless and you need a job. An employer sees you, sees the stigma, and doesn't hire you. Now you can't afford housing. You get depressed. Depression makes it harder to look for work. The stigma isolates you from family and friends who might otherwise help. It's a trap that feeds itself. Breaking it requires both material support—actual housing—and a shift in how people think about homelessness.
Fernandes talks about collective action and community networks. Isn't that asking too much of ordinary people?
He's not asking people to solve homelessness themselves. He's saying that when neighbors, associations, and institutions work together, they can create pressure for policy change and fill gaps that government alone hasn't filled. It's about recognizing that this isn't someone else's problem—it's everyone's.