The question of the homeless

This book sets out to reflect on the life situation of the homeless in the city of São Paulo. From the articulation between what can be learnt from the experience of participant observation in a São Paulo City Hall project aimed at this population, together with Luis Cláudio Figueiredo’s theories on the matrices and modes of modern subjectivation, we sought clues to help understand the picture attested to by the latest Census Survey: a continuous numerical increase in the homeless population. The composition of a mnemonic narrative was the resource adopted to recapitulate situations experienced within the project and also in contact with homeless people. The account sought to recapture some of the striking passages of this direct contact, favouring aspects that directly coincided with the difficulties faced by the project in fulfilling its objectives. At the same time, we tried to outline the structure underpinning the project. To do this, we looked at the National Policy for the Social Inclusion of Homeless People.