Abstract
This study aims to analyze the experiences of homeless persons who attend a Specialized Reference Center for the Homeless Population in the municipality of Novo Hamburgo, in Rio Grande do Sul. This exploratory-descriptive qualitative research was carried out with six participants. Sociodemographic questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Violence was identified as a key element in volunteers’ experiences of homelessness. Participants reported different types of violence and actions that violated subjects’ dignity and perpetuated exclusion spaces. Moreover, different meanings were attributed to the streets since participants perceived them as both a place of vulnerability and insecurity and as a space for survival and construction of bonds. Thus, we have evinced the need for affirmative public policies that guarantee the dignity and rights of this population, especially to combat violence.
Keywords:
homeless-persons; violence; symbolic violence; humans rights