Organisatsiooni kirjeldus:

Just a Change seeks to address a devastating type of poverty: Housing Poverty. Not having a decent home affects all aspects of one’s life emotional, educational and professional development; increasing risks to health and social exclusion.
According to INE, in 2018, (INE, 2019) *, 4.1% of the population in Portugal lives in poor housing conditions. The causes of the problem range from financial inability to repair the buildings, the building degradation, until social isolation and vulnerability. Apart from the weak structures, these houses have poor health and hygiene conditions. The deterioration worsens due to the lack of means that their owners have to maintain and rehabilitate them. Thus, this problem results in the following effects: lack of basic infrastructure (kitchen, bathroom, electricity, hot water), poor hygiene, safety and comfort.
Side by side with this phenomenon is energy poverty as a consequence of housing poverty, and a lack of isolation that is a result from building degradation and can lead to death. Portugal has the 2nd highest winter mortality rate in Europe. The Journal of Public Health (2016) ** says that there is a 28% increase in mortality during winter when the European average is 15%.
Just a Change's work addresses the root causes of the problem by solving structural and infrastructural problems. The house effectively becomes a decent shelter for its inhabitants, since having a shelter is one of the basic needs of a human being. Having a place where you can feel safe, where you can eat, sleep, provide the conditions to not only survive but live. The various activities developed also impact on a larger scale both in the community where these houses operate, and in society in general. Improving the housing and living conditions of the population has a direct impact on reducing poverty and crime, as well as bringing about significant improvements in public health and energy efficiency.
The action target group and direct beneficiaries are Families and individuals representing households living in homes without housing conditions. INE (INE, 2019) indicates that severe deprivation of housing conditions affects more than 400,000 people. Eurostat (Eurostat, 2018) confirms that in 2017, over 120,000 people could not take a bath at home and close to 100,000 do not have their own bathroom. These cases are flagged by our local partners (municipalities, IPSS, among others) and by the technical visits made. In the rural context, we find people full of social isolation and deep poverty, affected by their housing context. Summer camps, made in the interior of Portugal, have allowed Just a Change to operate in areas of national territory where it would be difficult to implement home rehabilitation projects due to the isolation that these municipalities and families live.
The lack of public policies for the rehabilitation of housing poverty, especially in private ownership is a reality. From the social or private sector, there are no construction players that focus on a "client" segment that cannot afford the intervention.
Given this void of response, Just a Change features 4 main programs: (1) Turn Up - volunteer shift system during college semesters. They only happen in Lisbon and Porto, with an average of 3 houses interventions per semester in each city. (2) Camp In - 12-day summer camps in rural and isolated areas. On average, there are 5 interventions at the same time. Camp In have already been held in Óbidos, Ferreira do Zêzere, Sever do Vouga, Pedrogão Grande, Tondela, and many more. (3) Keep Up - is a volunteer system in Lisbon and Porto, or very close areas, in weekly teams. The average intervention is 2 houses per program. (4) All In - is a corporate volunteering model, with interventions in IPSS. Generally, the activities last one day. Company volunteers are sometimes integrated into shifts or fields on a regular or punctual basis, respectively.
It is precisely the contact between young people and the target audience that generates a positive impact and a transforming force on those who are sad and desperate, bringing them back to society and generating greater effectiveness in social impact.

*INE, I.P. - Sobre a Pobreza, Desigualdade e a Privação de Material em Portugal, Lisboa, Instituto Nacional de Estatística, IP, 2010.
**LIDDELLl, Christine et al., Excess winter deaths in 30 European countries 1980–2013: a critical review of methods, (2016) Journal of Public Health.

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