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.