The Integrated Service Center for Homeless People comes into operation this week in Rio de Janeiro, which brings together, in a single location, services provided by federal, state and municipal agencies. The service focuses on access to Justice and the permanent issuance of documents.
The center is on Rua Senador Pompeu, next to Central do Brasil. Services will be provided from Monday to Friday, from 11am to 5pm. The objective is to effectively resolve most of the countless difficulties faced by the homeless population.
“The project rescues people’s hope, dignity and citizenship, ensuring that the fundamental rights provided for in the Federal Constitution are actually fulfilled. Having facilitated their access to Justice, feeling that the State also welcomes them, is fundamental for the homeless person to be reinserted into society and to be able to write a new life story”, says the president of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ,) judge Ricardo Cardozo.
The space, measuring 300 square meters, will provide priority, unbureaucratic and humanized service, with a specialized and multidisciplinary team, trained to guarantee the human rights of people living on the streets.
The courts of Justice of Rio, the Federal Regional Court of the 2nd Region (TRF2), the Regional Labor Court (TRT) of the 1st Region, in addition to the Ministry of Labor, will have guaranteed action on site. The Public Ministry of Labor, the Regional Electoral Court (TRE), the state government and city hall of Rio, the state and federal public ministries, the public defender offices of the Union and the State, Detran, as well as the Institute will also be in action. National Social Security (INSS), the Federal Revenue Service, the Eastern Military Command, the Association of Natural Person Registrars, the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) and the Leão XIII Foundation.
The coordination of the project is in charge of judges Renata Cotta, Renata Fadel and Vitor Marcelo Rodrigues, from the TJRJ’s Social Program Articulation Commission. According to the magistrates, Central do Brasil was chosen because, according to the 2022 Census, it is the area with the highest number of homeless people in the city. The municipality of Rio alone has around 8 thousand people in this condition. In addition, the location is close to the popular restaurant and a popular hotel to be opened in the region. The property was made available by the state government.
Also according to the commission, the intention is to take the initiative to Niterói and Baixada Fluminense by the end of the year, continuing to facilitate access to Justice.
