To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Catarina Sales de Oliveira

ReAJo – Autonomy Response for LGBTI Youth is the pioneer autonomy flat dedicated to young lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or intersex (LGBTI) individuals in Portugal.

A tailored solution for young adults

This initiative aims to fulfill the recognized requirement for safe living spaces for LGBTI youth who find themselves compelled to leave their family homes. During engagements with this demographic under Casa QUI WAS, the first Portuguese NGO to establish a support service for victims within this specific group, the team identified this pressing necessity. Frequently, these young individuals encounter situations of conflict and violence in their households, necessitating an urgent departure. Those without employment often struggle to secure housing and financial assistance, with no applicable state programms available. This response was tailored for individuals aged between 16 and 23 years old. Launched in 2019, the cases followed thus far predominantly involve young adults above 18 years old, typically aged between 18 and 21, of both genders.

A future plan to expand the rooms

Currently comprising two flats, with an additional two flats soon to be added, ReAJo offers two single rooms for stays of up to 6 months (for job search purposes) and two single rooms for stays of up to 2 years (for pursuing educational projects). While the flat was inaugurated in 2019, it began accommodating young individuals only in 2020. The initiative is in the process of expanding the number of housing units and anticipates having an additional 12 rooms by the end of 2023.

Picture by Freepik

Find out more about the initiative

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Catarina Sales de Oliveira.

Mental health issues increased among students and teachers during the pandemic

Because of the large-scale mental health issues that arose or were exacerbated during the pandemic, the University of Porto instituted this support line to help address some of these issues, especially in light of the increased social isolation and added pressures on both educators and students during this time.

Free call with psychologists provided to the university community

The University of Porto provided a psychological support line during the pandemic to help ameliorate any new or increased mental health problems among its community. Provided by a team of professional psychologists with experience in the university community, this support service was free; only the cost of the call was charged, with no extra fees. Open to all students, professors, collaborators and researchers of the university who needed it, the service also didn’t forget the international members of the university, as the line was accessible on a daily basis in three languages: Portuguese, Spanish and English. People were also able to schedule a session or receive psychological support via e-mail. Moreover, Italian-, French- and German-speakers could schedule a session in their respective languages. For all callers, the team of psychologists provided follow-up where necessary, either by reporting the case to the psychology offices of the faculties, or forwarding it to other health entities.

Photo by May Gauthier on Unsplash

To alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 policies, many initiatives have been developed by civil society organisations – NGOs, local governments, or citizens. A team of national researchers from the RESISTIRÉ project has collected and highlighted a set of particularly relevant initiatives in 27 European countries and in Iceland, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Turkey. These Better Stories currently cover eight specific domains: gender-based violence, the labour market, the economy, gender-pay and pension gaps, gender care gaps, decision-making and politics, environmental justice, human and fundamental rights.

This Better Story was collected by Catarina Sales de Oliveira.

Roma pupils encouraged to visit a community centre since the first lockdown

Cáritas de Coimbra, through its Nossa Senhora da Boa Viagem Community Centre in the vicinity of Coimbra, started to work closely with the local Roma community in order to monitor the educational progress of its youth and children. Cáritas de Coimbra began guiding pupils in the community centre during the first lockdown in early 2020, having already built up a relationship of trust with the local Roma community. It wanted to be present in the life of the community, promoting moments of learning, reducing inequality and helping with any difficulties experienced.

Teachers and technicians helped students to use e-learning platforms

Throughout the second lockdown (late 2020-early 2021), it continued welcoming Roma students of various levels of education in the community centre, whether they had access to virtual learning platforms or not. Students who turned up at the centre generally had little support from their parents, as they didn’t have the time or resources to help them, and were in search of support and learning strategies so that they did not fall behind due to online schooling, which was difficult to follow. The support work to help these students was done in close coordination with the teachers of each subject and the class directors, so that no one was left behind. Technicians were also available on a daily basis to support these young Roma, especially with regard to setting up internet connections and accessing online learning platforms.

Photo by Arian Selmani on Wikimedia Commons