Protesters demand to have a voice in mental health decisions

Mvoice in decisions on mental health and access to housing, education and employment were some of the demands of protesters who today marched to the Assembly of the Republic in Lisbon.

Promoted by the National Federation of Mental Patients Rehabilitation Entities (FNERDM) under the manifesto “For the future of community responses to support, rehabilitation and inclusion in mental health”, the protest “Outdoor for Mental Health 2026” began with a civic march, which left the Estrela Garden and ended with the parliament, about 1:30 p.m.

A few hundred people participated in the protest and filled the streets where they passed with green, with the shirts they wore and the balloons they carried, in a color that symbolizes hope.

In the tracks they were displaying, they left some of their claims “It is not enough to take care of the disease. We need to take care of the life that exists beyond it”, “Nothing about us, without us” and “Belonging is living in the community, in a house”.

“ On this day, the cry that we give is neither good to governments nor to governments, it is to the Portuguese State: look at these citizens”, Lusa the president of the federation, Carlos Alves, told, at the end of the protest, after a meeting with the Health Commission of the Assembly of the Republic.

The president of the Association for Psychosocial Study and Integration (AEIPS), one of the organizations promoting the initiative, argued that World Mental Health Day, which is marked on Saturday, is an opportunity for people to participate and make their voice heard.

José Ornelas highlighted the theme chosen this year by the United Nations, “Listening to the live experiences Real Voices, Real Change”, arguing that it is not enough to listen to the testimonies of people with mental illness, and it is necessary to guarantee them participation in the definition of public policies.

“It’s not enough for them to be in the community. This was a previous phase,” he said, considering it necessary to transform individual experiences into contributions to decisions.

According to the person responsible, although deinstitutionalization took thousands of people to the community, the intervention model did not change sufficiently, continuing to reproduce practices of psychiatric institutions.

Also Paulo Lopes, president of the General Assembly of the Association Leader Tu, argued that people should be able to lead their own lives in the areas of housing, education and employment, without becoming dependent on technicians or health services.

Among the obstacles to inclusion, he pointed out the difficulties of relationship and contact with other people, which can affect the school path and access to the labor market, as well as the lack of respect for the difference.

“Activism helps a lot, such as employment, such as education, participation in all areas of society,” he said, considering that initiatives such as march contribute to empowering people with mental illness.

Cristina D’Espiney, also from the Tu Leader, who made a point of revealing a diagnosis of mental illness, stressed the importance of moving from survival to activism and creating an association led by the people themselves, with the aim of reaching the whole country and acting independently towards mental health technicians.

The person responsible warned about prejudice and the labels associated with mental illness, which, she said, lead many people to be considered incapable or ignorant.

The president of FNERDM, who brings together 25 institutions responsible for providing care to around 5,500 people with mental illness experience throughout the country, said he had transmitted to the Health Commission “what needs to be done and the legislative positions that need to be changed” to improve the lives of these people.

Carlos Alves pointed out Ordinance No 311/2021 as one of the obstacles to the development of responses, claiming that the requirements provided for hinder the implementation of residences and other units, in particular due to costs and lack of resources.

He argued that people with mental illness experience have the same right as other citizens to express their needs and to participate in the construction of solutions.

“Portugal knows how to be an advanced country in this area, but in fact it is still very far from the countries of Europe and even neighbouring Spain,” he lamented.

Carlos Alves also criticized the fragmentation of responsibilities between Social Security and the different health organizations, considering that the lack of articulation hinders the creation of coordinated policies that effectively reach people.