Support platform for care leavers
After several years of contacts, persistence and insistence…
The amendment to the Law has been published in the Diário da República (official gazette); it “Provides for the resumption of care measures and the establishment of programmes for the transition to independent living for children and young people at risk, amending the Law on the Protection of Children and Young People at Risk” 
Over the years we came across cases all over the country of young people who, on reaching adulthood (because they were not used to making decisions and did not accept the – sometimes inflexible – rules of the residential care homes), hastily left the protection system with no safety net or life plan. The street, despair, suicidal ideation, prison, alcohol, prostitution, and putting up with ill-treatment or even violence were the most likely consequences.
The legislative change we fought for over many years – although it still needs regulatory adjustments – may in many cases ease these glaring situations.
Our thanks to everyone who has been with us on this journey 