Support platform for care leavers
In nine months, the Support Platform for Young Care Leavers (PAJE) has already supported more than fifty young people, in a wide range of areas, and has reached one hundred members, João Pedro Gaspar, founder and chair of PAJE, confirmed to Diário de Coimbra. PAJE was set up in February to provide psychological and legal support and informal advice to young adults leaving residential care institutions, contributing to their social and labour-market inclusion. Based at the Instituto de Psicologia Cognitiva e Desenvolvimento Humano e Social of the Universidade de Coimbra, PAJE has, thanks to the work it has been doing with young people, earned the recognition of institutions. So much so that it hosts Ordem dos Psicólogos (Portuguese Psychologists’ Association) professional internships and curricular placements (it currently has three interns working at the platform), and many cases are referred to it by the Equipas Multidisciplinares de Assessoria aos Tribunais (EMAT, the multidisciplinary teams that advise the courts), with PAJE taking responsibility for supporting the young people concerned.