Under the Bridge

Homeless - 2014 Lisbon

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The economic, financial and social crisis in Portugal has brought a rapid impoverishment and people were forced to change their daily lives and their habits. In some cases, streets have become the only existing shelter. Who has come to the streets in these recent months see it as a temporary accommodation, as a springboard for the life that will come next.
In the centre of Lisbon, these stories are increasingly visible. Near Tagus River and Santa Apolónia train station, there is a bridge where thousands of cars pass every day. Until recently, there were several people living under that bridge. They made use of a wall to build their shelters. It was as if these shelters were patches made with wooden slats, table tops and plastic awnings. One of these shelters had a kind of skylight window inside, to let the daylight enter.
Out of the shelters their stories could be heard. Michael, ‘Nene’, Joaquim, José, Gilberto, Zé Luís, Tudor and Carlos had different pasts but they had come across and they shared the same daily routine. It was in that space that they would eat, cook, bath and wash their clothes. During the day, they were looking for jobs in the city, crossed on foot, with no money to spend on transports. At the end of the day, they would gather to talk. From time to time, they would get some saved up money to have a special meal – different than what was usually brought by social support associations.