Homelessness is a situation that affects 37,000 people in Spain, 23.3% of whom are women. María has been living this harsh reality for the last 10 years, with the consequences it causes: "Without a roof over your head you lose your self-esteem, your food, your hygiene... you lose everything," she laments.
Maria's self-esteem deteriorated after she found herself without a home in which to rest and clean herself. She felt unable to take control of her life and even found it difficult to carry out daily activities such as shopping and cooking.
Now, more than half a year after accessing the Housing Rights program, developed by Provivienda and HOGAR SÍ, María says she is more empowered, regaining her independence and finally achieving her goals. "Things that I didn't achieve years ago I am now achieving, for example, being more independent, having a vehicle in which to go to work, having a roof over my head and a balance," she says proudly.
The importance of feeling capable
One of the keys to achieving this independence, according to the Murcian, has been the deinstitutionalizing model of this innovation project. María points out that the support she has received from the entities Provivienda and HOGAR SÍ in this initiative is totally different from what she has experienced in other centers before. "They leave you the option to decide for yourself, to think about what you want in your life, to say yes or no to this. They don't set goals or a series of aids and you don't get out of there, no," she explains.
Maria has managed to regain the "power" that defined her character, to rejoin the labor market and, what she thought was the most difficult thing, to have the desire to move forward. Moreover, she points out that this would not have been possible if she had not had some personalized supporters who made an effort to learn about her story, the problems she has had to face and who, without judging her, provided her with help. " They believed in me, they listened to me, they gave me strength, the ability to think," he says.
The testimony of María Ángeles, in first person, belongs to the Collective Diary of the VIDAS Platform. A plural and diverse account of what this innovative process of deinstitutionalization carried out by the Housing Rights project of HOGAR SÍ and Provivienda entails.
Gema Moreno, communications technician for Asociación Provivienda
