Compassion Meets Action: A New Kind of Homeless Shelter

When entering the Portuguese Red Cross house in Cascais, you can expect to be greeted by excited barks. A happy group of dogs – pets of the house’s residents – serve as a welcoming committee for all guests.  

For many people experiencing homelessness, a pet dog often serves as their primary source of emotional support in the absence of a social network. Dogs can become a lifeline, allowing people living at the margins of society to feel less lonely and isolated. Yet, this lifeline can also become a barrier to accessing shelters. Many facilities do not allow residents to bring their pets, effectively forcing people to choose between a roof for the night and the companionship of their animal.

The Portuguese Red Cross recognised this painful reality and, in partnership with the municipality of Cascais, took a step in 2020 to offer an alternative to this dilemma by creating an innovative kind of shelter. Inspired by the European Union’s commitment to end homelessness by 2030 in the Lisbon Declaration, Cascais wanted to move beyond providing temporary shelter and create an enabling safe space for people to rebuild their lives and work towards long-term stability. 

In recent years, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Cascais has been increasing exponentially due to various factors. More young people (between 18 and 25 years old) are sleeping rough, as well as working adults that cannot afford housing expenses. There are also individuals struggling with substance use, mental health, or a lack of family support.

This project has been essential to respond to this reality. It enables people’s basic needs to be met, but also provides comprehensive psychosocial, psychological, psychiatric and healthcare support throughout the process.

This house, provided by the municipality and managed by the Portuguese Red Cross, has become more than a roof, warm meals and healthcare. The Cascais Red Cross house is a pet-friendly place where transformative social work happens every single day. All people are welcomed as they are, with any belongings or companions that could help them feel safe, offering relief to the house’s inhabitants.   

In this secure environment, residents with diverse backgrounds collaborate closely with a dedicated team of social workers on their journeys towards personal, social and professional autonomy. Over time, they get equipped with tools and knowledge to support their recovery and be able to leave the house for good.   

By allowing dogs – life companions – the shelter does not only provide a safe and inclusive space for individuals but also respects the strong bond they have with their pets. This approach helps reduce barriers to accessing shelter services, making it more likely that people will seek the help they need. Allowing pets also fosters a more supportive and stable environment, as people feel more at ease and are more open to engaging in the recovery and reintegration processes when they are with their trusted companions.

However, this work is not without its obstacles. The reality of homelessness is complex, intertwined with mental health, addiction and an overstretched welfare system that is often ill-equipped to provide the necessary support. “One year is rarely enough to address the deep-seated challenges these individuals face,” says one of the Portuguese Red Cross social workers.

Many of the people housed have experienced trauma, prolonged instability and  multiple socioeconomic barriers. Individualised and sustained support is essential to achieve gradual change. Building trust, developing coping mechanisms and navigating bureaucratic systems take time. The Portuguese Red Cross strives to meet each person where they are, but real transformation is often a multi-year journey, demanding patience, resilience and a steady support network.

Even for those who manage to make progress, the path forward remains difficult. Accessing affordable housing in the current housing crisis is a major obstacle, making it challenging for residents to move on from the shelter, no matter how hard they have worked on their autonomy, and regardless of whether they have secured a job.  

This is why while partnerships like this are groundbreaking and offer a glimmer of hope for people to truly exit the cycle of homelessness, it can only work as a part of a holistic approach: addressing immediate needs, providing long-term support, and advocating for systemic change. This three-fold approach is the key to sustainable change that leaves no one behind.