The president of Humanitas – the Portuguese Federation for the Mentally Disabled -, Helena Albuquerque, warns of the risks of sustainability in the sector and calls for a “significant increase” in cooperation agreements to counteract the “approved salary increases for this year”.
And he warns in an interview with “There are institutions on the brink of financial collapse.” Renaissancethe head of this organization that supports about 40 organizations across the country, with about 12,000 users.
He stressed that “there are institutions that suffer from major financial problems and have very large debts that need to be settled,” noting that the crisis began with the pandemic and is “increasing.”
In this context of difficulties, “people without a contract” are dismissed, which has the effect of “significantly reducing the quality of service”.
The President of Humanitas asserts that the institutions “cannot be closed down” because they “always live for the people and for the vulnerable population.”
“We cannot do without certain services, therefore, what we are doing is providing loans and pushing the crisis forward a little,” says Helena Albuquerque, calling for an increase in the amounts specified in the cooperation agreements.
He adds, “The state is responsible for the low salaries of social workers, which does not support institutions so that they can pay the wages of their collaborators with dignity.”
“Organizations cannot survive on intermittent support because they live with a medium-term and long-term mentality,” Humanitas President affirms.
He insists that “from January 2023, the state has to strengthen cooperation agreements since then, the moment we witnessed the significant increases in our personnel.”
“Indeed, we are in great financial difficulty and we all have very large debts,” he concludes.
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