Presentation by Denise Paiva at at the POVERTY REDUCTION Event Rio de Janeiro, August 15, 2024. UFRJ, Brazilian College of Advanced Studies

Denise Paiva, a Social Worker for over 50 years, always working in public policies for social assistance and human rights. Today, I am a scholarship holder at ENSP/FIOCRUZ, developing studies and research on the homeless population.

I began my professional life in 1973 at the city hall of Juiz de Fora, working with the homeless population. I am very honored to be here at the invitation of the dear and remarkable Ana Célia Castro from CBAE at UFRJ, and particularly at this youth summit (summits are generally meetings of high-level formal leaders, heads of state, but since I believe that today’s youth are the great leaders of the future who can transform the world, I use the term youth summit for this event). Young people who, by participating in this Student Competition for Poverty Reduction Projects, are certainly capable of making vigorous and creative efforts to create a better world for everyone.

Development: I was once enchanted by a phrase that I have remembered forever: “Being young and not being revolutionary is a biological contradiction, to say the least.” I could certainly be your grandmother, and it is with all my experience and beliefs that I came here today, because I believe that this event will fuel the revolutionary force that will move you to be protagonists of a new model of society committed to poverty reduction.

I know that your ATTENTION is more focused on artificial intelligence, the educational crisis, global warming, the environment, the media and social networks, sports, and music, as examples, but I am going to touch on a topic that may seem distant and blurred to you. Not because your eyes cannot see it, but because it is in fact an invisible phenomenon and is part of the “make-believe” practically all over the world.

According to the UN, there are 150 million people in the world who are homeless or living in temporary shelters. We have data from 90 countries that total 60 million. The champion in total number is Pakistan (8 million) and in relative number is Somalia (almost 17% of the population). This data from 90 countries is organized by total population, homeless population and corresponding percentages. In Brazil, it is estimated that almost 300 thousand people (281 thousand) live on the streets and that there has been an increase of more than 100%, certainly due to the pandemic.

However, it is estimated that there is 15 to 25% under-reporting in relation to statistics on citizens living on the streets, certainly aggravated by wars and refugees/homeless people, and that they suddenly find themselves without shelter and without proper social protection.

This is just an estimate based on official data and NGO reports, but in reality this number could be much higher, as it is difficult to get a true picture of the phenomenon due to the characteristics of this population, their itinerancy and their desire to remain anonymous due to their desire/need for self-protection.

Homeless individuals have a lot of restrictions on the State, as we have seen in previous research – what we call “negative and frustrated expectations”. The longevity of punitive, hygienist, failed experiences, in addition to contradictory policies of a “centaur State”, which welcomes with one hand and strikes with the other, have distanced homeless citizens from social assistance and, more than that, from the State itself. It is quite common for social educators/outreach workers – the first agents to have contact with homeless individuals, a kind of mouthpiece of public policies – to be ignored, rejected and even mistreated.

This type of relationship is not formed by chance; on the contrary, it deserves to be considered based on the type of exchange that the State has carried out with citizens living on the streets, normally called “sinister exchanges” (Igor Ribeiro). When we talk about street pop, we are not talking about a homogeneous segment, but rather a very wide diversity, with various reasons that led them to live under the “moonlight and under the sky”. This phenomenon is global, in poor countries, developing countries, and rich countries alike, and therefore requires a global perspective and a multinational effort to better understand the phenomenon not only from a quantitative and qualitative point of view, but also to seek more effective solutions that better respond to the needs, specificities and, above all, the subjectivities of this population.

Who are they?  Why are they on the streets?

● Housing crisis and lack of housing.
● Unemployment. Crisis in the labor market resulting from the global capitalism model.
● Abusive consumption of drugs and alcohol.
● Loss of family and community ties
● Mental health.
● Wars, natural disasters, migrations.

The health issue is very significant! In addition to the health issues that led them to the streets, living on the streets worsens their health problems: tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis, malnutrition, dengue fever, chronic diseases and mental disorders.

In short, there are multiple causes, but they are interrelated. One reason leads to another. A vicious cycle is created, a chain of tragedy.

When we think of the homeless population, we immediately think of their dirty, violent and tragic aspect. Either we see them as poor little things who need charity or as dangerous people who need to be cast aside, hidden and criminalized. Look at what happened recently at the Paris Olympics and also at the Brazil Olympics. Something that deserves reflection! Where were they taken? It is a justified measure to “clean” the city, like taking out the trash. They are considered human waste. There is evidence that the Paris City Hall removed more than 12,000 people from the streets, some of whom were scheduled for deportation and others who were sent to such precarious and distant places that they ended up back on the streets. The international press, especially the New York Times, has revealed extreme inhumanity towards this population. They were the target of false promises, lies and deceptions.

However, the most outrageous and recent decision was that of the US Supreme Court, which ratified the decision of some states to consider the life of people on the streets a crime.

Are there successful experiences in ensuring care, autonomy and emancipation for this population? Are there successful experiences in terms of reintegrating these people into the system, or of humanitarian aid to welcome and protect those who do not accept being identified or included in the system?

Yes… we have some references from governments, NGOs and even volunteers, such as the case/example of Alexandra in Luxembourg and Father Julio Lancelotti in Brazil. Public experiences such as Housing First in Finland should also be observed. However, the first home alone is not enough; these people need other care and social protection actions.

I believe that the greatest challenge would involve a global research effort involving several human rights observatories, universities and research centers to identify intervention practices around the world, but above all those that can illuminate and inspire more efficient, effective and effective public policies in relation to this segment. A great reference in studies and research on the homeless population is the Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH), based at DePaul University, in Chicago, USA.

We need to interact with this population with a new perspective, with empathy, establishing bonds of trust, breaking indifference, stereotypes, prejudices and stigmas.

We need to discover the mysteries, talents, dreams and resilience of this population. The path of hope that their positive and creative lives and relationships can discover and create. Identify the possibility of narrowing the gap between potential and performance. There is a hidden wealth, sources of light, energy capable of renewal and overcoming that our eyes, focused on our own living conditions, so distant and different from theirs, do not allow us to see…

Hence our great challenge and our mission when it comes to projects to reduce poverty, as we are committed to in the here and now: “making visible and invisible”.

In conclusion: I suggest that you look for ways to engage young people in this purpose, examples:

● Volunteer programs;
● Work with NGOs to promote cultural, educational, professional and social initiatives;
● Campaigns and lectures;
● Art workshops.

It is important that young people discover innovative and creative ways of participating in actions with the homeless population that break with paternalism and welfare.

I conclude my speech by inviting all of you to learn about the National Visible Streets Plan, a proposal by the Brazilian government embodied in an Action and Monitoring Plan for the Implementation of the National Policy for the Homeless Population.

Help the Brazilian Nation to vocalize to the world the need for a global consensus and coordinated and concrete actions to confront misery and poverty and for a more supportive, fair and humane world for everyone… everyone, including those who are currently considered invisible and/or undesirable, as they were so recently chased off the streets of Paris.

“But between the concrete and the coldness of the world
There is a heart that beats, still fertile
Dreaming of sunny and peaceful days
Where the street is just a path to be made” (author unknown)