SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Temperatures fell throughout the entire south and southeastern region of Brazil during this past weekend as a front of polar air traveled from Porto Alegre in Rio Grande do Sul to Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais state.
South America’s largest metropolis, São Paulo, registered its coldest day in three years on Sunday, with thermometers dipping below five degrees Celsius.
In the city, more than 26,000 homeless people tried to shelter from the cold. Many were helped by some of the more than eighty volunteers of Anjos da Noite (Angels of the Night), a non-governmental entity which provides food and clothing for São Paulo’s homeless.
Founded by Kaká Ferreira and José Amato, the Anjos have been roaming the streets of the center of São Paulo since 1989, when Ferreira said an incident changed his life.
“On a very cold, rainy night, I stopped at a traffic light in the center of town when I was approached by a gentleman looking to be around sixty years old, wearing only a torn T-shirt and shorts,” Ferreira told The Rio Times over the telephone as he was getting his group ready for another night of assistance. “I was shocked because it was very cold. So, I decided to stop the car and help him. After exchanging his wet clothes for dry ones, including shoes and an overcoat, this gentleman stared at me and said, “You are an angel of the night,” said the 66-year old civil servant.
The now-retired worker said the phrase stuck in his head, so he decided to gather some friends and see if they could not give out blankets and warm clothing to those sleeping on the streets. The action turned out to be a regular commitment by Ferreira and his group every Saturday night.
In 1993, Ferreira and his group started to give out not only clothing but also warm dinners for those without a place to stay.
Today, more than eighty volunteers gather every Saturday in the Itaquera neighborhood, in the eastern part of town. By 10 PM they are in their cars, ready to roam the streets giving out food, blankets and hygiene kits. The volunteers work until 1:30-2:00 AM. The Anjos da Noite says that every Saturday the NGO’s van and at least four other vehicles are used for the aid work.
According to Ferreira, his group tries to visit at least five locations every week and estimates that his group helps approximately 800 people.
Most of the money Anjos receive is from individual donors. “We sometimes have a company that donates, but nothing on a regular basis. The ones that get us through are ordinary people, who feel depressed about these people living on the streets,” he says.
According to Ferreira, the city government has not stepped up and met the challenge of finding a solution to the homeless situation in São Paulo city. He says that although more shelters have been opened, there are not nearly enough to take all those people out of the cold.
“The number of people living on the streets today is much higher than back in ’89,” says Ferreira. “With the economy the way it is, we see entire families with nowhere to go,” he adds.
Ferreira says that the economic problem has gotten so bad that he recently met a man who spends Monday through Saturday sleeping on the streets and goes home to his family only on Sundays. “He says he’d rather save the bus fare and purchase food for his family,” explains Ferreira.
In addition to Anjos da Noite, other NGOs also help out São Paulo’s homeless. During the winter months of July and August a women’s group, called Meio Fio, gets together every week to knit caps which they then make available to those who must spend their days and nights out on the streets.
SP Invisível (Invisible SP) is another NGO that helps those out on the streets by telling their stories on social media and trying to get society to see them differently. “SP Invisível is a movement that aims to open the eyes and the mind through the stories of the “invisible” to motivate people to have a more humane outlook,” the group says on its Facebook page.
During the winter the NGO also runs a campaign to obtain donations to purchase blankets and warm clothes for those in need. By Sunday morning (July 7th), the NGO had collected over 78 percent of its R$85,000 target for this winter.
Although winter months in São Paulo city do not register below-zero temperatures, the thermometers sometimes do dip into the low teens, making sleeping on cold, concrete floors extremely uncomfortable and even dangerous.
This past weekend alone, three homeless people died in the streets of São Paulo city.
“I know I can’t fix everything, but with what we do we can at least provide them with warm food for their stomachs and dry clothes at least once a week,” concludes Ferreira.