Coletivo Abrigo Partners with the Consulate General of Ireland to Support Women in Rio Grande do Sul Affected by the Floods
- 12 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Coletivo Abrigo is starting a new chapter in its work in the most vulnerable areas of Rio Grande do Sul. In partnership with the Consulate General of Ireland, through the In-Country Micro Projects Scheme (ICMPS), the organization will develop the project "Roots that Care", offering free legal assistance, mental health support, and financial guidance for women affected by the floods of 2024.
The initiative represents an important international recognition of the work carried out by Coletivo Abrigo and reinforces a shared commitment between Brazil and Ireland: to promote a recovery that addresses not only the material damages caused by the climate crisis but also the social inequalities that it has exacerbated.
Eleven Years of Operation in the Territories
Founded in 2015, Coletivo Abrigo works to promote human rights, popular education, and social assistance in peripheral communities of the Porto Alegre Metropolitan Region. During the largest climate disaster in the history of Rio Grande do Sul, the organization coordinated a broad humanitarian response, distributing food, hygiene kits, and providing psychosocial support to thousands of people.
This continuous presence in the territories allowed us to identify a problem that remained invisible after the emergency phase ended: many women, especially informal workers, continued to lack access to economic recovery mechanisms and the specialized services necessary to rebuild their lives.
It was from listening to these women that the project Roots That Care was born.
A tragedy that continues to have effects
The floods that hit Rio Grande do Sul in May 2024 affected around 2.39 million people, reaching approximately 95% of the municipalities in the state. More than 580,000 people had to leave their homes, while hundreds lost family members, jobs, income, and their means of livelihood.
Although the water has receded, its effects remain.
In the most affected communities, many families are still struggling to reorganize their financial lives. Informal workers lost equipment, stock, clientele, and sources of income, unable to access public recovery policies due to their lack of professional formalization.
The impacts on mental health are also profound. Studies conducted after the tragedy indicate high rates of symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and prolonged grief, especially among women who have taken on caregiving responsibilities for children, the elderly, and family members while rebuilding their own lives.
Furthermore, various studies show that extreme weather events tend to exacerbate existing inequalities, disproportionately affecting Black women, residents of marginalized areas, migrants, refugees, and heads of families.
Comprehensive Recovery: Rights, Mental Health, and Financial Autonomy
The Roots That Care project was structured to address these multiple needs.
Over the course of a year, women from the Sarandi neighborhood in Porto Alegre and the surrounding metropolitan area will participate in an integrated support journey, bringing together three fundamental areas for the reconstruction of autonomy:
legal guidance on social rights, housing, benefits, work, and formalization as Individual Microentrepreneurs (MEI);
support groups focused on mental health, with an emphasis on trauma recovery, anxiety, and grief;
training in financial education, planning, family budget organization, and income generation strengthening.
By integrating these dimensions into a single project, Coletivo Abrigo aims to reduce access barriers and provide a more comprehensive response to the social consequences of the climate crisis.
Social and Environmental Justice as an International Commitment
The support from the Government of Ireland demonstrates the country's commitment to international policies focused on socio-environmental justice, gender equality, and strengthening the resilience of communities in the face of climate change.
The cooperation aligns with Ireland's international development policy, which prioritizes historically marginalized populations and acknowledges that the effects of the climate crisis do not impact all individuals equally.
By supporting community initiatives like Coletivo Abrigo, Ireland contributes to ensuring that reconstruction goes beyond infrastructure, strengthening rights, economic autonomy, and social inclusion.
Planting Roots for the Future
More than just providing specialized assistance, the project aims to empower women so they can rebuild their paths with greater security, information, and autonomy.
When a woman knows her rights, takes care of her emotional health, and can reorganize her financial life, the impacts extend to the entire family and the community.
It is this long-term reconstruction that inspires the name Roots That Care: creating conditions for women profoundly affected by tragedy to bloom again, thereby strengthening the territories where they live.
For Coletivo Abrigo, responding to climate change means, above all, caring for people. And this care is built through listening, solidarity, rights, and opportunities.
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