In a progress and accountability report released today regarding the Emergency Social Fund, established following the Kristin storm system that severely impacted the Leiria region six months ago, Caritas explained that “131 cases were processed” across the municipalities of Leiria, Ourém, Marinha Grande, Pombal, and Batalha.

Processing each case involved a home visit, the collection of socioeconomic documentation, a technical assessment, and a decision by the Fund’s allocation committee, which is dedicated to supporting families affected by the disaster.

This committee consists of seven members serving voluntarily, possessing “expertise in social, financial, legal, and community areas,” the institution specified.

As of 15 July, the Fund held a balance of €2,493,936.89.

Of the 131 cases, 49 were approved, meaning aid was granted, totalling €505,988.86.

According to the report, 43 cases are currently under review, while the remaining 39 were rejected. In most instances, rejection was due to “an inability to establish contact or obtain documentation, failure to meet eligibility criteria, or needs being fully covered by other means,” such as insurance or state aid.

The municipality of Leiria recorded the highest number of approved aid requests (33), followed by Ourém (9), Marinha Grande (5), and Pombal (2).

Regarding the 49 families eligible for assistance, representing a total of 122 individuals directly supported, the Diocesan Caritas explained that the age profile reveals a significant presence of children and older people, the population groups most vulnerable to housing emergencies.

“The presence of 34 children (27.9%) and 26 elderly individuals (21.3%)—who together account for nearly half of the beneficiaries (49.2%)—underscores the relevance of Caritas’s intervention,” the organisation stated, highlighting that “these groups have less capacity for independent economic resilience and face greater difficulties in navigating public support systems.”

The institution further noted that “among the 49 families assisted, there were instances of temporary displacement, with families staying at the homes of relatives or friends, or in temporary housing, while awaiting repairs to their own homes.”

“The average household size of 2.5 people reflects a predominance of smaller families, many being single-parent households or elderly individuals living alone, who have a limited capacity to share the costs of rehousing,” it observed.

As for the type of assistance provided, the overwhelming majority “is allocated to home repair and reconstruction (93.2% of the approved funding); this reflects the nature of the damage caused by Storm Kristin, which primarily affected the roofs, structures, and installations of the families’ permanent homes.”

Caritas Leiria added that, “in addition to processing and managing applications for the Fund, the Caritas technical team conducts an in-depth social assessment of each household,” noting that “analysis of each family’s socioeconomic conditions frequently reveals situations of need or unclaimed entitlements.”

“In such cases, the team refers the families to the appropriate services and actively assists them in applying for supplementary aid from Social Security and other relevant agencies.” For Caritas, this work—“invisible in the Fund’s statistics”—has an “enormous impact on families’ living conditions” and represents a “holistic approach that distinguishes grassroots social intervention from the mere distribution of one-off aid.”