From childhood to y youth: the “placeless” living on t the streets of Porto Alegre

Abstract

The main issue approached in tthis work concerns the daily lives of young peo ople that live on the streets in Porto Alegre. I have u used the expression “placeless” to point out whaat their reports have shown, i.e. it seems that they w were born “without a place to stay” in this wo orld; when they were born, they did not have a place e either in their families or in their original com mmunities. Today, as adults, they try to find their plac ce. I have become interested in understanding h how they went to the streets, the previous and curre ent relationships they have had with their fam milies, as well as the reasons that have led them to either stay or not in these life conditions. Th he field research has consisted of observations of thhose young people’s routines on the streets and interviews. The research was carried out with h four subjects aged 17-20 years old that eit ther live or lived in abandonment situation in big ccities. I have detected that those young peop ple have to face the limitation of the time with one v vital moratorium.