Paulo

​

 

TRANSCRIPT
 

“Hi, I’m Paulo, I’m from Pernambuco. I fell into a deep depression—I couldn’t stay at home anymore, and that’s how I came to the streets.

I spent about three years living on the streets. It wasn’t easy—it was very hard. But one thing I took from that experience was that I went back to studying, started taking some courses. I’m trained in metalwork and carpentry, and I used to have no trouble finding jobs, finding work. But after I ended up on the streets, I couldn’t anymore. Why? Because people looked at us differently. They think all homeless people are thieves, that all homeless people are addicts. No one wants to hire someone who doesn’t have an address, who has no reference. When I was taking a harm reduction course, I did some research to understand why people end up on the streets.

​

Most of them came from other states looking for a better life and didn’t succeed. And they ended up discovering the streets. When you get to know the streets, you get to know alcohol, you get to know drugs. If you’re looking for someone to invite you into the job market, you won’t find it. But if it’s to invite you to use drugs or do something wrong, that’s what you’ll find the most. Many people use substances to try to fill an emptiness inside them. Sometimes it’s to forget the prejudice, to forget being abandoned by family. Sometimes you don’t even have anything to eat. Why? Because I felt ashamed to ask for food and be told no. When I left home, I told my mother I wouldn’t come back—not even to visit. It’s been 11 years since I’ve been back.

​

My mother told me to my face that I was the disgrace of her life, that she should have taken something to abort me. I carry a lot of hurt from that—I keep it inside my heart, and it affects me deeply. That’s when I fell into depression and came to the streets. I was very affected by the prejudice from people. I’ve seen people walk by and throw cups of beer in the faces of those lying down. Here, where the old BRB used to be, we were lying down and what we call a ‘playboy’ passed by, threw a cup of beer on someone who was just lying there.

​

But that’s the thing—if today I’m working, if today I have my own place, it’s because there were people who believed in me and gave me an opportunity. And that’s what the streets need: people who believe, who give opportunities, who open doors. People who don’t look only at the substance use or the situation someone is in. That’s the hope—to create more opportunities so we can help guide people back into the job market.

​

If today I’m working, if today I have my own place, it’s because people believed in me and gave me an opportunity. And that’s what the streets need.”