COVID-19 and public policies for homeless people

A series of COVID-19 containment measures was implemented worldwide. The measures had to take into account the social sectors, such as the homeless population. Lisbon which stands out for the good practices of the National Strategy for the Integration of Homeless People, under the Housing First guideline, adopted, in this context, the emergency centers. The study aimed to identify the changes arising from the implementation of these centers as measures package to prevent COVID-19 transmission to protect the homeless population in Lisbon, starting from the question: what were the effects resulting from the implemented emergency centers? In order to face this question, the triangulation of methods was adopted through a mixed approach, with the use of methodologies and instruments such as direct participant observation, survey and semi-structured interviews to evaluate the first year of meausure adoption (March /2020 to March/2021). The results give the perception that the concentration of measures, such as the prioritization of definitive answers and the intensification of priority socio-economic-housing initiatives, had direct positive effects on the life of the homeless population.