The refurbishment and extension work at the Centre for Activities and Training for Inclusion (CACI) of the S. Pedro de Bairro Social and Cultural Centre will allow the social institution to double its response in the area of disability. This way, the 30 citizens supported by the Bairro Social Centre's CACI will be joined by 30 more.
‘The laying of this foundation stone is aimed at constructing a building that will make it possible to expand the response capacity of this centre,’ explained the mayor of Famalicão, Mário Passos, at the start of the work this Saturday. The work, funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), will cost an estimated 1.7 million euros and should be completed next year.
For Mário Passos, considering the increase in demographics in Vila Nova de Famalicão, it's increasingly important to work on increasing social responses. ‘We want our territory to be increasingly inclusive,’ he emphasised.
The S. Pedro de Bairro Social and Cultural Centre is a Private Social Solidarity Institution that promotes the biopsychosocial well-being of children, young people and the elderly.
The start of the CACI refurbishment works took place on the day of the institution's 40th anniversary and was attended by the Secretary of State for Social Action and Inclusion, Clara Marques Mendes. ‘The proximity of the government means that, in general, it knows the reality of the country and, in particular, the reality of Famalicão,’ said Mário Passos, noting that Clara Marques Mendes accompanied the launch of the project. With this knowledge, the government will have at its disposal ‘the means to create the necessary conditions to support the growth of these institutions’, he concluded.
‘This is indeed a concern of the government,’ said the Secretary of State for Social Action and Inclusion, noting that it is essential to increase the number of places available in the various Portuguese institutions. ‘It's necessary to extend these responses to all people,’ she said.
Increasing social responses in the municipality
This is not the only investment on the ground with the aim of increasing the social response in Famalicão. The municipality currently has nine applications in progress, for a total investment of 13 million euros, which will allow for the creation of 364 new places in nurseries, day centres and other facilities.
Three of the applications are part of the Programme to Extend the Social Facilities Network (PARES) and involve an investment of 4.04 million euros, with around 2.5 million euros coming from public investment and the rest from private investment. The other six applications are associated with the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and involve a total investment of around 8.9 million euros, of which 4.8 million euros come from public investment and the rest from private investment.
These projects have the support of the municipality. Also at the end of May, the municipal executive approved a set of grants, totalling 280,000 euros, to be awarded to Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS) to increase the social response in the territory in the areas of children, the elderly and the disabled. The financial support approved goes to 6 IPSS: Centro Social da Paróquia de Joane (50 thousand euros), Engenho - Associação de Desenvolvimento Local do Vale do Este (40 thousand euros), Mais Plural (50 thousand euros), ACIP - Ave Cooperativa de Intervenção Psico-Social (40 thousand euros), Centro Social de Calendário (50 thousand euros) and SOCIAELOOS - Associação Social de Fradelos (50 thousand euros).