Homelessnes conditions in Salvador, Brazil

Abstract

There are about four thousand homeless people in Salvador, most of them living in the streets in extreme poverty. Through a quantitative and ethnographic approach, the research to be presented aimed to investigate the living and working conditions of this population. The results show that most homeless people in Salvador are male, black, poorly educated and in the productive age. The main causes of homeless conditions observed among this population are lack of family bonds. However, ethnographic research revealed that most homeless participants lost their family contacts because any purpose such as unemployment, drug use, family violence, sexual orientation, separation or death of a spouse. Therefore, our results reinforce the need of going beyond social assistance politicies, such as providing public social dwellings or boarding spaces. It is necessary to rethink about the structural causes of homelessness and plan accordingly a preventive approach to avoid the homeless conditions.