What can we learn from Father Júlio’s practice? – 01/12/2024 – Laura Machado

What has caused the record increase in homeless people?

As I reported in the last column, we know that the Brazilian states with the highest number of homeless people per inhabitant are the richest, such as São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, while the poorest have the lowest incidence, according to the Cadastro Único do federal government.

We also know, from reports from the European Social Policy Network, that the homeless population grew by 15% per year in Germany and 14% in England.

Finally, we know that in Brazil the growth rate of the homeless population is 12% per year (a gradual increase since 2012) and that the behavior of poverty, here understood as the profile of Bolsa Família beneficiaries, is very different. In a path of oscillation between highs and lows, the number of families with less than R$218.00 per capita was 14.6 million in 2012 and 14.2 million last year.

It is possible that we are facing a phenomenon of hysteresis, the tendency of a system to preserve its properties in the absence of the stimulus that generated them. As poverty worsened in 2019 and 2021, people who became homeless were unable to reverse the situation during the period, even with the general decline in poverty.

Data indicate that before going onto the streets, these people had a home and family, and that some rupture led them to this condition. A census carried out by the city of São Paulo with the homeless population in 2021 showed that 50.2% of people experienced some disruption of ties with their community, such as family conflicts and separations motivated by different causes, before going to the road.

Drastic events may have occurred in these families, generating ruptures that were just as acute. However, haven’t these situations been happening forever? Was there less family disruption or was there more welcoming space? What changed for the situation to reach this level?

In a chapter of the book “There was a rock in the middle of the road: invisible people in a street situation”, Father Júlio Lancellotti writes: “we have the intolerance of politics, the intolerance of the rhetoric of hate. But there is a rhetoric of hate that is being internalized and it is made explicit in human relationships, in the inability to live together.”

Perhaps we are losing the strength of the support network and coexistence, especially among the most vulnerable families. In case of separation, a rich person will probably live alone. A poor person cannot resort to this alternative.

Júlio Lancellotti’s main practice is to offer welcome and belonging. A large part of his work involves food and accommodation, but also rebuilding ties with family and society. These steps are, without a doubt, essential for a person’s recovery. By welcoming, it opens space for citizens to move towards autonomy.

Public policy should start with a similar equation, of strengthening reception, health care and support for family reintegration to then help build a new independent life. Not learning from the priest is a waste of time.

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