The Second Meeting of Social Service Organizations took place in Toronto between September 20 and 24, 2003 and was an initiative of the Regional Department for the Communities in partnership with Abrigo-Center and with the participation and support of the Luso-Canadian National Congress and the Government of Ontario.
About one hundred participants from the United States, Canada and the Azores attended this meeting, working together in order to reach the proposed objectives:
Provide knowledge and exchange experience between the Social Service Organizations in the Azorean Communities abroad and their allied in the Azores;
Continue reflecting about the problems and social questions which affect the most unprotected classes of the Azorean communities residing both in the archipelago and in the Azorean communities in the United States and Canada;
Encourage the demand for new and better ways of social service, in order to provide an efficient assistance to the communities in general, taking care of their interests, specially of those who need more support.
The participants also pondered over the following issues: “Youth Problems”, “Addictions and Mental Health”, “Social Exclusion and Minority Groups” and “The Elderly”.