Transcript Alternative development for vulnerable populations in urban

Alternative development for vulnerable populations
in urban contexts: Brazil’s experiences
Rafael Tobias De Freitas Alloni – Technical Advisor for International Affairs
Broadening the concept of alternative development
Alternative development must provide legitimate
livelihoods that are viable and sustainable in the long term
for all rural and urban populations affected by illicit
economies of drugs
Overview of Brazil
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Crack Program (2010/2011): the most vulnerable populations and
crack users were the priority – urban context
Profile of crack using population (Fiocruz, 2013)
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Estimated 370,000 users in state capitals (0.8% of the general population)
50,000 are adolescents (11% of total users)
80% use crack in public spaces
Average age: 30 years
80% men
80% non-white (48% of the total population)
40% homeless
Low level of education (80% primary education)
Among women, 40% are sex workers; 45% say they have suffered sexual
violence; 50% were pregnant when the first used crack;
Risk profile – violence
Profile of victims of lethal
violence in Brazil
Profile of crack users (2013)
93% men (2011)
80% men
60% 14-29 years old (firearms,
2013)
Average age: 30
71,5% non-white (2011)
80% non-white
An individual with fewer than 7 80% primary education
years of education is 16 times
more likely to be murdered than
someone who enters higher
education (IPEA, 2016)
• According to some studies, a majority of crack users die because they are
murdered
I. Attitude Project: keeping people alive
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Created in 2011 by the State of Pernambuco to protect drug
users and low-level traffickers exposed to violence
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The initiative integrated the program “Pact for Life,” conceived
in 2007 to reduce the number of homicides in the state
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Between 2000 and 2011, the State of Pernambuco had a homicide rate of
50.4 per 100,000 inhabitants – almost double the national average.
Of the 6,148 people assisted by the project between 2011 and
2015, 49% reported receiving death threats or having suffered
attempted murder.
The Strategy of Project Attitude
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Attitude in the streets
15 teams with three harm reduction professionals for psychosocial
intervention and other health services.
Creation of bonds of trust
Shelters and support
Temporary refuge for people at risk
Food, showers, social and cultural activities, temporary refuge
Removing them from the context of violence
Shelters for intensive care
Houses where at risk users can stay for up to 6 months;
Teams of social workers
Mechanism for social reinsertion: activities, reconstructing personal
histories, recovering documents, etc.
Housing assistance
Help paying rent
They continue to receive medical and psychological attention
Support in finding employment and achieving independence
Results
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Evaluation in cooperation with OSF: prelimiary
results:
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77.2% feel protected by Project Attitude
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97.4% would recommend the program to a friend
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77% give the program a grade between 8 and 10 out of 10
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Daily drug use decreased 82.1% among 22% of
participants
Together with other initiatives of the “Pact for Life”
program, Project Attitude contributed to a 39%
reduction in the homicide rate in the state, and a 60%
reduction in its capital, Recife
II. Open Arms
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Created in 2014 by the Office of the Mayor of São
Paulo with the purpose of managing the urban problem
of crack consumption in public spaces
The program integrates health, social services, human
rights, work, and urbanism.
Contractual relationship with minimal requirements
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Decent housing – “deterritorializing” the street as housing;
supports the concept of “housing first”
Paid work – revitalizing public spaces
Food
Integrated to networks of social and health services
Currently being broadened with the supported of the
Federal Government
Un año del programa “Braços Abertos” en números
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453 registered beneficiaries
80% reduction in the flow of users in the region
54,000 instances of health interventions given to those
with chemical dependency
21 beneficiaries working autonomously outside of the
program structure
321 working in maintenance services for public spaces
490 recovering their documents
Public security
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50% reduction in vehicle robberies and 33% reduction in
muggings in the region where the program operates
III. Social Insertion Projects
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Since the end of 2014, the Federal Government has offered
resources to certain municipalities for social reinsertion
projects
Objective: Support intersectoral initiatives which promote
the exercise of citizens’ rights and autonomy among
individuals who use drugs
Lines of action:
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Municipalities developing proposals
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Housing
Work/income – grants
Qualifications/ sports, culture
21 municipalities planned – 12 are in the execution phase
Potential to expand to other municipalities with high rates
of violence
Conclusion
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Underlying concepts of the three programs
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Harm reduction
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Low barriers to entry
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Developed based on local needs
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Voluntary participation
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Creation of decent alternatives, assuring dignity of
individual
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Looking more at individuals rather than at drugs –
protagonism of the participant
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Linked to networks of social and health services