In Pictures

‘Rio faces worst possible scenario over homelessness’

Warm temperatures and long beaches have long made Brazil’s most famous city a place with a large street population.

A homeless man sits on a bench after sleeping there in the port area of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many shun shelters because they often have strict rules and, by the city’s own acknowledgement, have fallen into disrepair, with infestations of bugs and filthy bathrooms. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

12 Dec 2017

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – One night about a year ago, Leandro Mota Generoso was sleeping on a street in downtown Rio de Janeiro when he felt something jagged strike his face.

Somebody, he didn’t see the person, but believes it was a resident in the neighbourhood, had slashed his nose with broken glass from a bottle. He woke up in a pool of blood.

“I can’t sleep at night any more,” said Generoso, 23, who has been homeless since his grandfather, who was raising him, died five years ago. “To many people, we are rats, garbage or whatever thing.”

“That is the reality and now there are many more homeless in the streets,” he added.

A year after Rio de Janeiro hosted the Olympic Games, a grinding economic crisis has led to an influx of thousands of homeless people, creating a climate of tension that city officials are scrambling to address.

Warm temperatures and kilometres of beaches have long made Brazil’s most famous city a place with a large street population. But city officials say it’s more than tripled in the last few years to an estimated 15,000 people.

Today’s homeless in Rio include thousands who came from other states for work before the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics and subsequently lost their jobs.

“Rio de Janeiro is facing the worst possible scenario when it comes to the homeless,” said Pedro Fernandes, the city’s secretary of social assistance and human rights. “We have never had such a large number in the streets.”

The city has launched an initiative to spruce up shelters and persuade more homeless people to use them. Many shun shelters because they often have strict rules and, by the city’s own acknowledgement, have fallen into disrepair, with infestations of bugs and filthy bathrooms.

“You may go into a shelter healthy, but then how will you come out?” said Nancy Gouveia, a 49-year-old who has been on the streets three years.

Homeless people sleep in a covered area of the pavement. City officials say the street population has more than tripled in the last few years. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

William, who is homeless, prepares lunch at a park. Tensions have been steadily increasing, particularly in affluent and tourist neighbourhoods where residents and businesses are frustrated with the throngs of people sleeping on the streets. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

Cristiane, a 40-year-old homeless woman, walks with her dogs Luis, Spike, Poseidon and Perola, near Copacabana Beach. She's lived on the streets for 22 years. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

Silvana Regina Venceslao, 33, who has four children and is six months pregnant, rests outside the public defender's office. While some of the nearly 2,200 beds in shelters go empty each night, successfully convincing more homeless people to use them could create its own problems, as there are vastly more potential users than space for them. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

Carlos said he's been living on the streets for 25 years. People in several affluent neighbourhoods post messages on community Facebook groups urging police to act and imploring neighbours not to feed the homeless. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

'There is a repressive movement to keep people from helping the homeless,' said Carla Beatriz Nunes Maia, from the Public Prosecutor's Office. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

Homeless people pray before receiving breakfast from volunteers. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

Homeless get their hair cut in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Hundreds of homeless showed up to the park where the city offered services that ranged from free haircuts to recovering documents and help with job searches. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]

A homeless man sits on a park bench in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Although economic growth is tepid, Brazil officially emerged from recession earlier this year, and city officials say some businesses are donating food and clothes, as well as providing jobs for some homeless. [Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo]