Low pensions and high rents are making life difficult for many seniors. Without money to maintain a home, they end up living in rented rooms and, at times, forced to use loans to pay for essential expenses.
Almost 20% of elderly people in Portugal live in poverty. Among older people, the use of credit to pay for basic expenses, such as housing, is also growing. At the end of their lives, there are those who live in just one room because they cannot afford the cost of a house.
Mariana, 80, spends her days at the Santa Catarina Parish Center, in Lisbon. There he combats loneliness and spends his time with activities that stimulate his mind and hands. The center has become a meeting point and also a shelter, an extension of home for those who, in reality, has only one room to live in.
“I occupy my time. I do those things that Isabel teaches. At 80 years old, I’m learning things that I didn’t do”, he says.
Throughout her life, Mariana worked in a cork factory, cleaned and served in homes. He had a family and he had a home. Today he lives in a cramped room.
“I go in and immediately put my feet on the bed. The bed is small, it’s a length and a half. I have a broken piece of furniture, the television on top of the furniture and a small wardrobe”, he describes.
He came to Lisbon from Alentejo with different expectations.
“Would I like to have a house? I would, but I don’t have the money. It’s already difficult for the room”, says Mariana who does and redoes the accounts every month.
The reality is closely monitored by Carolina Spínola, director of the center, who has been working with users from Bairro Alto, São Bento and Bica for more than a decade. Located on Calçada do Combro, in the heart of Lisbon, the day center It is located in an area heavily pressured by real estate speculation.
“Due to the increase in rents and pensions that our users have, it is difficult to have a quality of life after the age of 65”, he explains.
According to the person responsible, the impact of the climbs is visible.
“You can see when a letter for an increase arrives from the landlord, they spend months calculating their lives (…) They should be in a peaceful phase, after a life of worries, but they continue to have problems.”
The elderly are one of the most vulnerable groups. At DECO’s over-indebtedness office, requests for support related to housing loans represent 15% of the total, a 10% increase in one year.
And not always rented rooms offer decent conditions.
“It depends on the room. From no ventilation, to no windows, to only having space for a bed (…) We have cases of rooms that look like pantries and pay 400 euros”, reports Carolina Spínola.
According to the study Portugal Desigual, from the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation, almost 20% of the elderly population lives in poverty. Although the outlook has improved, elderly people without children are the households with the highest poverty rate, 27%. By professional category, retired people represent 16.4%.
Isabel, 64 years old, also knows this reality. He works in the center and counts the days until retirement, when he hopes to return to Elvas.
“Get a little house there, maybe little“, he idealizes.
Until two years ago I lived in an apartment, but he was unable to pay it. Today, outside of work hours, he spends most of his time in his room.
“I eat a little and stay in the room watching TV. I have to hold back. I miss a lot of things. In a house I could move more. There’s that little space and that’s it.” He considers the situation unfair, but admits resignation. “How do I pay for a house? I have this conscience.”
Stories like those of Mariana and Isabel are repeated. Low income which, pressured by rising rents and prices, no longer covers expenses. In an instant, the main space of privacy and freedom is lost.
“If I had a house, I would have my son, my daughter-in-law and my grandchildren here. Now I’m deprived of that. It makes me sad”, confesses Isabel.
Mariana also dreams of having a house.
“My biggest dream was to have a house, but only if I won the EuroMillions.”
