PUBLIC POLICIES AND THE STREET SITUATION

EMERGING PRACTICES IN THE PANDEMIC CONTEXT

Abstract

The homeless population is made up of groups that have heterogeneous profiles, whose main shared characteristics are extreme poverty, weakened or interrupted family ties, the lack of regular housing and, in many cases, use public spaces as places of residence. address or search for sustenance. Data from the National Census on the Homeless Population (Census Pop Rua, 2008), carried out between August 2007 and March 2008, identified 31,922 homeless people, however, according to a technical note released by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA , 2020) the number of homeless people grew exponentially, 140% between 2012 and March 2020, totaling approximately 222 thousand people. It is noteworthy that these data can be more expressive when associated with socioeconomic crises related to the pandemic context of the new coronavirus. In the municipality of Porto Velho, according to data from the Municipal Secretariat of Social and Family Assistance (SEMASF), approximately 300 people are homeless, with a high increase when compared to the Census Street conducted in 2016, where 120 people occupied that condition. Given the scenario presented, this research aimed to list which activities are being carried out by professionals specialized in social approach of SEMASF of Porto Velho, so that this group has access to public policies aimed at people in situations of vulnerability, as provided by the System Social Assistance Service (SUAS), highlighting the main difficulties encountered in this context. For the understanding of the demands and the data collection, it was carried out for three months, from March to May 2021 in the psychology internship at Centro Universitário São Lucas, the monitoring and participation of the work carried out by the reference public servants of the referred service, composed by a psychologist and a social educator. During the performance of the internship activities, the execution of the food security and hygiene project during the pandemic was mainly monitored, in partnership with a parish in the municipality, where 180 people are attended daily, totaling about 70 thousand attendances carried out to date . Among the services provided, access to meals, baths, health, issuing of documents, enrollment in income distribution programs and the fight for vaccination of this public, which has already been achieved in parts, stands out. The data collected through a participatory methodology and field diary registration point out that there are many challenges for the execution of this service, mainly related to the invisibility of the population in the municipal and social budget allocation. There is an absence of infrastructure - (there is no proper headquarters for the POP Center), human resources and continuing education are challenges to offer programs, projects and benefits that effectively serve people. In addition, another fact that draws attention refers to the social invisibility of these subjects and the stigmatization that impacts on the modes of understanding and treatment conferred by society and by the professionals and volunteers who attend them. In this sense, critical social psychology becomes a theoretical-practical contribution that can contribute to discuss and act in the face of exclusion processes, which deprive them of the condition of humanity and citizenship. Finally, we would like to thank, first, the specialized service of social approach of Porto Velho, which accompanied us, making this collection happen splendidly and adding knowledge. To our advisor, who, through corrections, scores and teachings, allowed this presentation to perform better, adding key issues to our training process as future professionals.

KEYWORDS: Social Psychology. Vulnerability. Street situation.