São Bento Social Support Center: structuring processes

Digital

At the beginning of the 20th century, in the São Bento area, next to the Palácio das Cortes (current Assembly of the Republic), the Sociedade Protetora das Cozinhas Económicas commissioned the construction of the Economic Kitchen nº 6, which was inaugurated in April 1906. Like its counterparts, this kitchen was intended to provide affordable meals to the most needy population, especially the working class. In 1928, the kitchens were transferred to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, with only two buildings surviving today, in Anjos and São Bento. It was in the latter that Santa Casa installed the São Bento Social Support Center in 1997. In brief pages, the course of the project to create this facility that was installed in São Bento, dedicated to the promotion and support of the integration of individuals in situations of social exclusion and homeless people in Lisbon, is outlined, and the strategy , the intervention methodology and the work process in articulation with the user and with the other services. Today, largely surpassing the initial functions of the Economic Kitchen n.º 6, it includes three occupational workshops, a shop selling handicraft products and a space for digital inclusion, being a reference in the heart of the city. This book is part of the Sebentas Social Action Collection, an editorial line dedicated to sharing knowledge acquired and consolidated through practice, in the awareness, however, that this knowledge is always under permanent construction and improvement.

Authors: Rita Valadas (right); Celeste Brissos (coord.); Rui Santos; Ana Zagalo and team

Year of publication: 2016
Editor: SCML
ISBN: 9789898712400