| 4. In which ways is the initiative creative and innovative?
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Mature City is the first elderly only horizontal condominium in Brazil, totally implemented by the State Government. Similar to this there is only the Elderly Village in the city of São Paulo - SP, which works more as a social rental housing system where the elder pays 10% of their income, plus condominium taxes for a vertical structure that does not offer leisure areas for social interaction among the elders or heath care and social assistance services.
Mature City condominium takes the concept of a conventional residential condominium and innovates by giving it special features to suit the personal needs of elderly people while being accessible to special needs people.
Mature City Program addresses the needs of the elderly under a multidimensional point of view, aiming to fully protect the elderly person as well as to offer access to multiple State policies such as housing, health care and social assistance.
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| 5. Who implemented the initiative and what is the size of the population affected by this initiative?
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Based on State Decree 35.072 dated June 10th 2014, which establishes Mature City Program, both the State Secretariat for Human Development (SEDH) and the Popular Housing State Company (CEHAP) are responsible for executing and monitoring the program:
I - CEHAP is responsible for:
a) Addressing the demands of infrastructure and technical assistance on Mature City Condominium, when necessary and solicited by the beneficiary or the administration;
b) Following and inspecting both the construction process and service providing;
c) Hiring companies to build the structure as well as to provide maintenance and repair services to the homes, when the beneficiary isn't the one supposed to provide them;
d) Demanding that the company hired to build the condominium fix any existing damage from construction, such as cracks in the home's walls, infiltration, piping or electrical issues or problems with windows and doors.
II - SEDH is responsible for:
a) Keeping a supporting staff for social assistance policies when executing the Social Project;
b) Communicating by the proper means with other public sectors and entities in the civic society in order to promote integrated actions that contribute to strengthen and improve the protection and defense network around the rights of the elderly;
c) Monitoring and evaluating the implemented project aiming to ensure that all equipment are used to their correct ends;
d) Financing the Social Project, also providing human resources for it to be carried out in the intended aim, quality standards and deadline.
Mature City Program currently provides housing for 300 elderly people in all its condominiums in Paraíba.
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| 6. How was the strategy implemented and what resources were mobilized?
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Upon facing the identified problem, Paraíba State Government created a department within State Secretariat for Human Development (SEDH) in 2012 to form the State Policies for the Elderly, which began structuring services, programs and projects for this specific public.
Regarding the implemented services, 26 Social Assistance Specific Reference Centers (CREAS) were distributed in regions to address and monitor any kind of violation to the rights of the elderly through an interdisciplinary staff. When coupled with 78 more city CREAS, they cover all Paraíba cities.
Regarding the programs, Mature City Condominiums was the strategy presented in 2014 to address the housing deficit among the elderly population in the State. Mature City Program's proposal is linked to other actions carried out by the State, as it sees the elderly person through a multidimensional point of view.
Regarding the projects, there were 44 private, non-profit Elderly Only Long Stay Institutions (ILPIs) in Paraíba, working in precarious conditions and about to be closed by the State Public Prosecution Office for not meeting the basic structural conditions to safely host their elderly. Therefore, sill in 2014, Paraíba State Government created the Hosting Project, which has already provided 3.5 million reais to improve the ILPIs in the State. Although no ILPI is completely run by the State, this hosting service is crucial to cover the needs of the elderly in the State, because as soon a Mature City beneficiary is no longer able to care for themselves, they return to living with their families or are taken to an ILPI partnered with SEDH.
Regarding investment from the State Treasure in Mature City Program, over 12 million reais were offered to create the condominiums in João Pessoa (finished) Campina Grande (finished), Cajazeiras (finished) and Guarabira (in final stages). The Federal and Cities Governments do not provide resources for the program, meaning Mature City is not co-funded. Investments for each unit of Mature City Program are estimated in 4 million reais. The units of Patos and Sousa cities are in public bidding stages and will be built next.
The Program aims to cover all 14 Geo-administrative Regions of the state, as the State Government of Paraíba follows that model of regionalization and structures its actions by public state administration cells. That way, the monitoring of Mature City's actions falls to Regional Management technical teams from Social Assistance and Health areas present in the territories.
SEDH is responsible for administering the condominium and seeking out other public agencies and civic society entities to promote integrated actions.
State Secretariat of Health (SES) is responsible for activities in the Health Center, providing professionals in nursing, physiotherapy, psychology and odontology.
State Secretariat of Security and Social Defense (SEDES) is responsible for keeping the condominiums safe and Popular Housing State Company (CEHAP) is responsible for coming up with and executing the technical project, as well as addressing demands on infrastructure and technical assistance and managing condominium taxes.
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| 7. Who were the stakeholders involved in the design of the initiative and in its implementation?
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The idea was conceived by Paraíba State Governor Mr. Ricardo Coutinho, who when travelling in Europe got to know of a vertical condominium for the elderly in Paris, and when faced with the reality in Paraíba, he shaped that idea to build Mature City condominium and fix the identified problem, given the characteristics of the territory. Through an administrative decision, he gathered CEHAP and SEDH technicians and closely followed the whole process necessary to implement it.
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| 8. What were the most successful outputs and why was the initiative effective?
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The main results of Mature City Program include:
• Social inclusion of the elderly
• Lessening the housing deficit in the elderly population
• Improving their quality of life, sociability and visibility
• Lessening the violation of their rights (mistreating, isolation, etc.)
• An intersectional approach to the issue, as in involves a number of participant institutions, as well as monitoring it, as is the case of partner Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB)
Mature City Program is directly aligned with UN's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 - Sustainable Communities and Cities, specifically goal 11.1, which aims to guarantee access to safe, adequate, affordable housing and basic services for all as well as upgrading slums by 2030.
Besides directly attending to 2030 Agenda SGD 11, Mature City initiative integrates actions beyond housing policies, addressing Health Care and Social Assistance needs. Therefore, the program also contributes to SDG 1 - No Poverty, as the selected beneficiaries also meet the economic and social eligibility criteria.
Another 2030 goal addressed by the initiative is SGD 3 - Good Health and Well-being. Mature City Condominiums include a basic health care center to provide medical assistance with professionals that closely follow the elderly and give them basic attention. The structure also includes a walking lane and equipped gym that allow the elderly to exercise safely.
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| 9. What were the main obstacles encountered and how were they overcome?
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Going by the premise that the program attends to elderly people with autonomy to carry out Daily Life Tasks (AVDs) and that forming visibility of the elderly and promoting sociability free from State interference and both among the main goals of the program, two main obstacles were faced when implementing the initiative:
• Paternalist culture: the belief elders have that the State is legally responsible for them regarding routine issues of the condominium, including situations of behavioral issues involving residents;
• The process of disconnecting the elderly that no longer fit the eligibility criteria of the program.
For the first problem identified, SEDH monitors the program and has been carrying out themed meetings with technicians to solve issues such as autonomy, visibility, rights and duties etc. Based on these meetings were created assembly approved Internal Rules for each condominium, containing the norms of living to be followed.
Regarding the disconnection of those who are no longer able to carry out AVDs and need special care but do not have family links of any kind, vacancies were opened on ILPIs institutional hosting network through Hosting Project.
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