Abstract
This ethnographic study verified the effects of the Território da Paz project on the daily life, community experiences and life projects of adolescents and young adults in the Guajuviras, Canoas, RS, marked by drug trafficking, violence and stigma. Content analysis was conducted on semi-structured interviews with 34 young individuals (18 and 29 years old) living in the region regarding topics related to work, study, leisure, and their perceptions about the neighborhood and the project. This study pointed to the importance of working in public policies while taking into account youths’ ways of life, as the majority of respondents had their lives affected by violence and did not perceive the project’s effectiveness after its implementation despite being the main target audience.
Keywords:
violence; youth; identity; public policy