Voz dos Bairros is "the voice of the people" from the neighborhoods of Alfinetes, Salgados, Marquês de Abrantes, and Quinta do Chalé, all in Marvila - a community newspaper, made by the community and for the community.
It's called The Voice of the Neighborhoods and seeks to be just that: the voice of the Alfinetes, Salgados, Marquês de Abrantes and Quinta do Chalé neighborhoods, all in Marvila - a community newspaper, made by the community and for the community. The launch took place this Thursday, September 29th; residents and friends from outside the neighborhood got to know the number one issue of this newspaperwhose future is and will always be uncertain: will depend on the will of the people and, of course, also the existence of funding.
The newspaper's history begins in Ground Floor. The first floor space that this urban regeneration" association located at Rua Luís de Sttau Monteiro, in Marvila, was reconverted in early 2021, due to the pandemic. Rés do Chão, which had that place to develop its activities, gave a part of it to the community - with a population uncomfortable with technology and, part of it, without internet at home, there was the need to create a service and connection post, to help in whatever was needed. And so was born - first informally, then more formally - a community store.
With the support of the parish council, Santa Casa da Misericórdia and the Bairros Saudáveis program, the community store is still there today. It is open from Monday to Friday, in the morning or afternoon, depending on the day, and there is always someone available - a "community facilitator" to attend to the residents of the neighborhoods. They receive between 30 to 40 people a week, helping with appointments at the Health Center, applications to Social Security, questions on the tax portal, or even preparing resumes. But over time, the store became a meeting place and gained "features".
There, whoever wants to, can consult the project of the future Urban Park of Quinta do Marquês de Abrantes and know exactly what is planned, or see the Semáforo, a hand-made map that local people have been building over time and that shows the gaps in the parish. The store is also home to 4Growingthe community group that welcomes and gives structure to all these social dynamics. Made up of people from the four neighborhoods already mentioned - Alfinetes, Salgados, Marquês de Abrantes, and Quinta do Chalé - the group relies on a number of partnerships in the area, such as the Marvila Municipal Library, the Parish Council, the PSP, the Marvila school group, neighborhood associations, cultural and sports groups, the municipal housing company Gebalis, and Rés do Chão itself, among other entities.
The Newspaper The Voice of the Neighborhoods is thus one more initiative among the many that have been driven by 4Crescente and, like the other community initiatives, was developed in community. The name was decided by everyone and everyone also participated in the elaboration of the contents. Published in paper, with a print run of 200 copies and free distribution, The Voice of the Neighborhoods intends to be the a communication vehicle of a group of people and entities with the will to improve life in their neighborhoods. Issue one is only eight pages long but they are enough to report on what 4Crescente has been up to.
There is a chronicle by a resident, a news item about the flower beds that residents created and maintain next to the train tracks, a highlight on the project Be a Neighborhood Watcherwhich seeks to involve the population in the transformation of their public space, an interview with the two "community facilitators" of the store, and also information about the Semáforo project.
Ernestina Spínola, or Tina as she is better known among her neighbors, was the first "community facilitator" of the store and was given the mission of presenting the newspaper. "This project was carried out by our community group and is the voice of the people. It was very hard fought, very studied. All the details. Our neighborhood needs more things, although we already have many projects that have been realized and others that have yet to be realized." Tina is leaving "because of my health problem" and is being replaced in the store by her neighbor Rossana, who was unemployed and for whom being a "community facilitator" and helping people has been more than a job, as she tells the newspaper.
O The Voice of the Neighborhoods was launched on the day the community store was reopened. Works done in the space, with the help of the neighbors and a contained budget, allowed to give it a new comfort and at the same time to better separate the service part from the work space on the ground floor. "When I came here it was either freezing cold or else a killer heat, but I survived. And I'm very happy that we have our newspaper and store renovated and up and running."said Tina. "Rossana is here to fill in for me. But when it's needed, I'll come here too, lend a hand. We're here to help."
Besides the presentation of the new store and newspaper, the new site of the 4Growingwhere it is being born a local resource sharing platform. The idea is, for example, that if a neighbor has a drill that they are willing to share, they can register it on the site, and then anyone who needs a drill doesn't have to go buy one. The store will help the less digitally literate to register on this platform, where there will also be a short news space about the community group and the neighborhoods.
And because funding from the Healthy Neighborhoods program doesn't last forever, 4Crescente is preparing a set of trainings so that more residents, on a volunteer basis, can rotate in the store (for now, it has been possible to have a "community facilitator" working part-time). The 4Crescente group meets every month, on the 2nd Thursday of each month, to discuss the issues of the Alfinetes, Salgados, Marquês de Abrantes and Quinta do Chalé neighborhoods, and the Marvila parish. As for the newspaper, a second issue is guaranteed, but it does not yet have an expected release date.
