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 president 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 care institutions, contributing to their social inclusion and integration into work. Based at the Instituto de Psicologia Cognitiva e Desenvolvimento Humano e Social (Institute of Cognitive Psychology and Human and Social Development) of the University of 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 internships of the Ordem dos Psicólogos (Portuguese Psychologists’ Association) as well as curricular internships (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, multidisciplinary court advisory teams), with PAJE becoming responsible for supporting the young people concerned.