Fundação Vasco Vieira de Almeida partnered up with EAPN Portugal to launch Citizenship and Assisted Adult Regime [Estatuto do Maior Acompanhado] Workshops as part of project InclusivaMente: Direitos Humanos no Envelhecimento e na Saúde Mental [Human Rights in Aging and Mental Health]”.

EAPN Portugal – Rede Europeia Anti-Pobreza and Fundação Vasco Vieira de Almeida have been developing Projeto InclusivaMente: Direitos Humanos no Envelhecimento e na Saúde Mental [Human Rights in Aging and Mental Health] ever since the new legal Assisted Adult regime came into force in 2019. The project is a training and coaching program on the legal framework for the intervention of social economy entities engaging in care for the elderly, dependent and/or disabled persons.

Aimed at contributing towards a better understanding and the implementation of this new legal regime, and helping consolidate the intervention of formal and informal caregivers through their capacity building regarding "assisted adults’" care and the limits of their intervention, 24 training actions have been implemented so far across the entire national territory (Mainland and Islands) with a total of 569 participants.

The sessions also led to the InclusivaMente Practical Guide (for an intervention that promotes the rights of disabled persons), designed to help professionals in their intervention.

The current project proposal includes several sessions designed to meet the challenges related to the implementation of the current legislation, which requires an overhaul of structures and practices, as well as a change in procedures and standards by all parties involved in the process.

Paula Guimarães and Rosário Zincke dos Reis led two Workshops this month targeting social sector professionals. The Workshops had the following goals: monitor the degree of implementation of procedures related to the new legislation and guide professionals in the process of implementing the measures by presenting real-life situations.

This is the account of one participant:

 “Organizations must be provided information on the Assisted Adult Regime. That is the only way to achieve a fairer, more inclusive society, where the rights of the most vulnerable people are protected.  This session made me feel better equipped to protect the rights of the elderly and make their decisions heard. More than a social service act, this is a legal and citizenship issue”

Maria João Xavier, Psychologist | Associação Mais Proximidade