Table 1 presents the characteristics of the participants. Twenty individuals between 21 and 62 years old participated in the study, of whom 13 were men (one transgender), and seven were women (two transgender). As regards family configuration, most of the participants were from large families (more than three siblings) and most of them had one child or more. More than half of the participants did not have a job (12), and among these individuals only one did not receive any aid from the government. Participants who reported working (8) had informal jobs, such as delivering fliers. Most of them, however, also reported receiving government aid. The majority of the respondents were single.
Table 1: Characterization of the Participants
Respondents
|
Age
|
Sexual Orientation1
|
Work
|
Income Source
|
Children
|
Living with
|
Marital Status
|
Number of Siblings
|
|
Respondent 1
|
20-30
|
Heterosexual
|
Yes
|
Government Aid
|
0
|
Street Friends
|
Single
|
12
|
|
Respondent 2
|
31-40
|
Homosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
0
|
Partner
|
Cohabiting
|
3
|
|
Respondent 3
|
31-40
|
Homosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
0
|
Street Friends
|
Engaged
|
1
|
|
Respondent 4
|
31-40
|
Heterosexual
|
Yes
|
Work
|
2
|
Alone
|
Single
|
2
|
|
Respondent 5
|
31-40
|
Heterosexual
|
Yes
|
Work
|
0
|
Alone
|
Widowed
|
10
|
|
Respondent 6
|
20-30
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
0
|
Street Friends
|
Single
|
1
|
|
Respondent 7
|
20-30
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
0
|
Alone
|
Single
|
5
|
|
Respondent 8
|
31-40
|
Homosexual
|
Yes
|
Work
|
3
|
Partner
|
Married
|
7
|
|
Respondent 9
|
41-50
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
5
|
Alone
|
Single
|
1
|
|
Respondent 10
|
20-30
|
Heterosexual
|
Yes
|
Work
|
0
|
Alone
|
Single
|
6
|
|
Respondent 11
|
31-40
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Pension
|
3
|
Street Friends
|
Divorced
|
8
|
|
Respondent 12
|
51-60
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
1
|
Street Friends
|
Separated
|
6
|
|
Respondent 13
|
31-40
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
5
|
Shelter
|
Single
|
4
|
|
Respondent 14
|
31-40
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
No
|
3
|
Alone
|
Single
|
5
|
|
Respondent 15
|
31-40
|
Heterosexual
|
Yes
|
Work
|
3
|
Alone
|
Single
|
3
|
|
Respondent 16
|
20-30
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
1
|
Partner
|
Single
|
5
|
|
Respondent 17
|
20-30
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
4
|
Partner
|
Cohabiting
|
0
|
|
Respondent 18
|
51-60
|
Heterosexual
|
No
|
Government Aid
|
3
|
Shelter
|
Single
|
15
|
|
Respondent 19
|
20-30
|
Heterosexual
|
Yes
|
Work
|
1
|
Shelter
|
Separated
|
11
|
|
Respondent 20
|
51-60
|
Heterosexual
|
Yes
|
Government Aid
|
2
|
Shelter
|
Separated
|
6
|
|
1 The definitions of gender, transsexuality and sexual orientation were based on the article by Joan Scott and a manual of theoretical concepts on this issue (49, 50)
2 The column “living in the street” describes whether the person lives with someone on the street or lives in a shelter, and is classified as alone, with street friends, or with a partner
Based on the analysis of the stages of the lifecycle, four themes emerged from the data relative to the histories and life trajectories of the participants. Figure 1 shows the theme map with its respective themes and subthemes subdivided by life cycle. The themes that stood out from the data were described and organized according to the stage of the life: 1- Childhood; 2 - Adolescence; 3 -Adulthood; 4 – Cross-cutting Factors.
Theme 1: Childhood
Subtheme 1.1: Instability upbringing
About half of the participants reported a history of instability in their upbringing during childhood. They described recurring rearrangements of the family structure, with most of them reporting having been taken care of sometimes by their parents, sometimes by their grandparents and/or uncles and aunts, or even by other relatives or godparents. In some cases, these rearrangements were described as a very painful experience, often associated with a sense of rejection. In general, these instabilities were the result of the separation or death of the parents, mental disorders, or substance use by the caregivers.
“Because I don’t accept, until today I don’t accept [referring to her mother] that she didn’t raise me [...] left me at my grandmother’s to go to a dance one weekend and never came back to pick me up! [...] My grandmother raised me with a lot of love and care, but I don’t understand, I don’t get it, I have the view that where one can eat, two can eat; where one can starve, two can starve.” (Respondent 10)
Subtheme 1.2: Abuse and Violence
The respondents reported having suffered violence, mostly physical. The accounts highlight assaults within the family, many of which committed by a family member (usually the father) under the effect of some substance.
“Then, when I was little, my mother hit us a lot, you know? It was for us to rise in life, you know?[1] [...] My way of thinking, you see? My family is kind of complicated. (Respondent 5)
Subtheme 1.3: Always or often absent father
We observed in the reports about childhood that the respondents did not often mention experiencing life with their fathers. On the other hand, they highlighted the role of the female figure (mother or grandmother) in their upbringing. Many of them reported not having met their father or having had little contact with him.
“And my father, he wasn’t very present, he was in prison more often than not, he spent more of his life in prison than out of it, so he was not involved in with me growing up much.” (Respondent 10)
Theme 2: Adolescence
The respondents reported several difficulties regarding fragile school and work relationships during adolescence. Sexuality started too early, particularly for the girls. Family problems resulting from a compromised childhood also stood out. Within this theme, four subthemes emerged from the data.
Subtheme 2.1: School Dropout and Failure
More than half the respondents dropped out of school during adolescence, most during elementary school. There were also reports of failing and a history of participation in school equivalency courses. These events resulted mainly from factors associated with the use of psychoactive substances and low grades.
“Interviewer: And you studied up to which grade?
Respondent 16: Up to the eighth grade.
Interviewer: And what happened that meant you could not finish your studies?
Respondent 16: Crack!” (Respondent 16)
Subtheme 2.2: Acceptance of Gender and Sexual Orientation
Another factor that emerged from the data were social and family difficulties in respect of the acceptance of sexual orientation and gender, and the impact of this on the respondents’ acceptance of these things themselves. The respondents described prejudice from society and family before they reached their own acceptance.
“When I was 16, I admitted and accepted myself as homosexual, you know, I think it is particularly important! No, it was from 15 to 16, plus that I had psychological problems because of that, because I didn’t accept myself [...] (Respondent 3)
Subtheme 2.3: Birth of First Child
A considerable number of participants had their first child during adolescence. The main reports were from women who declared having first given birth in early adolescence. Some also had their other children in this period of life.
“I had my daughter when I was 15 [...]” (Respondent 8)
“My daughter was born when I was 17 to 18.” (Respondent 15)
Subtheme 2.4: Unions and Marriages
The union or marriage of very young intimate partners is a usual and accepted practice. This is more likely to be experienced by young women, and they account for the great majority of cases. For some, the union was forced on individuals because of pregnancy.
“After that I went back to Paraíba (a state in the Brazilian northwest) again, then, when I was 14, I got married!” (Respondent 8)
“[...] one week before I turned 18, they [family] found out I was pregnant and forced me to marry him.” (Respondent 4)
Theme 3 - Adulthood
Most respondents reported becoming homeless in adulthood. We observed difficulties in their family relationships, both regarding their family of origin and the family they raised. Two other sub-themes detected were health problems, and drug trafficking and prostitution.
Sub-theme 3.1: Estrangement or Conflicting Relationship with Family
One of the first factors to stand out in the data was in respect of family issues, particularly estrangement or conflicting relations with their family of origin, or sometimes both. As for the families they raised, one of the main subjects they talked about was loss of contact with their children, mainly because of separation from their spouses. Several participants stressed the psychological impact of this estrangement from their children, which triggered depression and, later, their moving to the street. The points stated in this sub-theme were the use of alcohol and other drugs, as well as sexual orientation, which the family did not accept, and fights.
“Me, my stepfather, we don’t talk for three years. In the house, [...] I am the last to eat, he fights a lot, humiliates a lot, he already humiliated me a lot, too.” (Respondent 6)
“[...] it’s about 3 years since I talked to them [the two sons], with my daughter I talk sometimes by Facebook.” (Respondent 8)
Subtheme 3.2: Health Problems
More than half of the respondents described physical and mental health problems. Some reported being HIV positive. There were also accounts of physical problems caused by accidents. The reports in respect of mental health problems were most commonly in respect of depression and substance use.
[referring to HIV] “When I was 17, I caught it, when I found out I was 18, 17 to 18! (Respondent 3)
“I was run over, lost my prosthesis, lost my glasses. [...] lost my teeth, then it was the domino effect, lost my job, lost the house, [...], lost the life that God gave me [...]” (Respondent 20)
Subtheme 3.3: Trafficking and Prostitution
Some respondents revealed having worked with drug trafficking and prostitution. To some, this started in adolescence. For most of them, however, this began in adulthood. Prostitution was more associated with the female and homosexual participants. Due to the need to survive plus a the lack of future prospects, a significant number of the participants used those precarious forms of work to generate some income.
“Then I knew that the only way to come to São Paulo, of course I had other means to come to São Paulo, but the easiest way to come was to prostitute myself, come to prostitute myself.” [...] As I wanted to come quickly, in the easiest way.” [...] Then I had to set my mind that I had to prostitute myself, when I was eighteen.” (Respondent 7)
“Trafficked, got it? Had a lot of women, I??? had money, I thought I had power, and I did. Only that then, I wasn’t noticing I was gradually destroying myself [...]” (Respondent 6)
Theme 4: Cross-cutting Factors
Cross-cutting factors emerged from the data relating to these three stages of life. Two subthemes were also observed in the themes mentioned above. Some respondents reported having experienced situations related to death and substance use in childhood or early adolescence.
Subtheme 4.1: Deaths
The reports highlight grief for the deaths of people close to the respondents (mainly parents and grandparents) with whom they had a bond of dependence (relationship or income). This subtheme presented high intensity, as it often elicited a sequence of significant changes in the life of the participant.
“Well, my family life from 0 to 10 years of age, I lost my father when I was 4, my mother when I was 6, my grandmother when I was 8, it was a sequence.” (Respondent 3)
“It was soon, when my mother passed away, [around the age of 40], because my mother, I was everything, you know, I earned, I didn’t earn, but it was everything, [...] and then the guys, when my mother passed away, threw me out of the house, my brothers, you know, then my father left with me at the time [...]” (Respondent 20)
Subtheme 4.2: Substance Abuse or Dependence
There were reports of relatives with a history of substance abuse, with alcohol and crack use standing out. We observed a history of several admissions in many cases to therapeutic communities.
“At 19 years old I started to use cocaine, and three years ago I started to use crack [..] It was then that I really started living on the street...”. (Respondent 14)
“Why I lost my job? Because I didn’t smoke during the week, I started to smoke, I started to miss work, [...] then it gets to a point when it’s enough, you know, then I was fired.” (Respondent 10)
[1] It’s a Brazilian expression like “We were supposed to rise in life, right”. Many people believe in the false idea that educating is synonymous with hitting.