SHELTER IS NOT JUST A BED

Brazilian Campaign for LGBTQIA+ Shelter, Protection, Health, Integration and Autonomy

For shelter.
For protection.
For health.
For integration.
For autonomy.
For dignity.

A simple question

Do we merely want to keep people inside the shelter system — or do we want to help them build a life outside it?

Social shelter should be more than a bed, a meal and a set of rules.

For LGBTQIA+ people, refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and others in vulnerable situations, shelter also means access to:

safety • privacy • health • mental health • education • language • employment • housing • protection from discrimination • autonomy • dignity

Shelter should be a bridge toward an independent life — not a place where life is put on hold.

WHAT WE STAND FOR

1. Shelter with dignity

Shelters and social services must provide adequate conditions of safety, privacy, respect, rest and coexistence.

A person receiving shelter must not be treated merely as someone who needs a bed.

2. LGBTQIA+ protection

LGBTQIA+ people may face specific risks both inside and outside shelter services.

We advocate for:

• protection against LGBTphobia;

• respect for identity and gender expression;

• privacy;

• safe reporting mechanisms;

• prevention of and response to harassment, violence and discrimination;

• protection of victims, without automatic punishment or relocation as a response to a complaint.

3. Mental health

The mental health of people experiencing displacement and vulnerability cannot be understood separately from their experiences.

Persecution, violence, threats, family separation, loss of social networks, forced migration, language barriers, housing insecurity and institutional dependency can profoundly affect recovery and the rebuilding of one's life.

We advocate for an approach that listens to the person before interpreting the person.

Listen to the person before interpreting the person.

4. Portuguese is also protection

Learning Portuguese should not be treated as a minor detail.

It is a tool for autonomy.

We advocate for effective access to:

• Portuguese language education;

• documentation;

• legal and administrative guidance;

• education;

• vocational training;

• résumé/CV preparation;

• job searching;

• access to public services;

• building social networks.

5. Education and employment

Shelter should not create permanent dependency.

It should create pathways for each person to develop their abilities and potential.

We advocate for policies connecting:

education → skills → employment → income → housing → autonomy

INDIVIDUAL AUTONOMY PLAN

Each person should be able to build, together with the professionals supporting them, an individual plan covering:

Housing
Health
Mental health
Portuguese
Education
Employment
Income
Documentation
Support network
Autonomy goals

The plan should include objectives, timelines, follow-up and regular review.

People must participate in decisions about their own future.

QUALIFIED EXIT

The purpose of shelter should ultimately be autonomy.

We advocate for a planned transition:

SHELTER

↓

PREPARATION

↓

TRANSITION

↓

HOUSING

↓

AUTONOMY

Depending on each person's situation, this may include:

• social housing;

• social accommodation;

• transitional housing;

• semi-independent housing;

• rent assistance;

• housing programs;

• other appropriate alternatives.

WHO IS THIS CAMPAIGN FOR?

The campaign advocates for inclusive public policies for:

LGBTQIA+ people
refugees
asylum seekers
migrants
people experiencing homelessness
young people
older people
people with disabilities
victims of violence and discrimination

Without reducing the LGBTQIA+ agenda to a single identity.

OUR VISION

We do not simply want to improve people's stay inside shelters.

We want to improve the pathway out of them.

PROTECTION

↓

STABILITY

↓

RECOVERY

↓

INTEGRATION

↓

AUTONOMY

A NON-PARTISAN CAMPAIGN

WE WILL MOVEMENT is not a political party.

We do not endorse candidates or political parties.

During the electoral period, we invite all relevant candidates and political forces to answer the same questions regarding:

• shelter;

• housing;

• health;

• mental health;

• education;

• employment;

• LGBTQIA+ rights;

• refugee and migrant rights;

• autonomy;

• dignity.

Responses will be recorded transparently.

Full support

Partial support

No position

Rejection

No response

The objective is to allow society to understand the positions of different political actors.

WHAT DO WE WANT TO CHANGE?

We want to transform the concept of shelter.

From:

bed + food + rules

To:

protection + stability + recovery + integration + autonomy

WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR LUXURY.

WE ARE NOT ASKING FOR PRIVILEGES.

We are asking the protection network to fulfill its purpose.

PARTICIPATE

You can help build this initiative.

Share

Help spread the campaign.

Share your experience

Real experiences can help reveal problems that need to be addressed.

Support the proposals

Help strengthen public policies based on dignity, protection and autonomy.

Engage

Organizations, professionals, researchers, social movements, public officials, candidates and citizens are invited to participate in the discussion.

WE WILL MOVEMENT

Rights. Dignity. Future.

For shelter. For protection. For health. For integration. For autonomy. For dignity.

São Paulo • Brazil • 2026

An initiative founded by Abderrazak Akouchad