Conscious Living: What is the value of a life on the streets of your city?

Under the viaduct.

The street seems completely empty and the only sound you can hear is of the rain. And even so, when the car approaches, it is surrounded by people who already know who and what is inside.

He gets out of the car and picks up a bag with a sandwich and a juice. The bag can also have yogurt and some milk. He carefully separates some clothes and distributes to those who complain of the cold that night. All clothes are donated and tonight, we don’t have enough men's pants and coats.

“What is the value of life?” - I’ve been asking myself that since I left my house that day. For them, home tonight is a viaduct, to try to escape the rain that falls strong. Home can also be the subway square, the central bus station or the empty parking lot.

Keep walking a bit further, do we even have enough of these small dinner bags? Tonight we find a singer, who stands up for a musical performance and makes us all laugh. Right next to him is a gentleman, who is very sick. He cannot stand up, but also accepts some of the dinners with a shy smile.

Another group of four men chat excitedly and even joke about the fact that they were in a place where the wind carries the rain to. "That's because he did not close the windows" - one of them says while the other laughs out loud. The conversations are taking place in an informal tone and the possibility of getting off the street with the help of the Project is never directly addressed.

"This is an idea that we are gradually planting," he told me.

Today, the majority of adults living on the streets are men aged between 35 and 40. Usually, because of problems with alcoholism or family abandonment, they do not want to go home. Others are on the streets because they were looking for work and ended up running out of money, which leads them to become beggars. Most live in groups, taking care of each other.

“What is the value of a life?” - this question keeps popping in my head while I questioned myself how oblivious I am to so many things. 15.000 people are living on the streets of Rio de Janeiro today. 100.000 people are living on the streets of Brazil. Despite all the government's disregard for this, we as inhabitants can not forget that these people are also human beings. It is very easy to turn our eyes and pretend it does not exist. People do that every day. But it's much easier to get that blanket or coat that you have not worn in the back of your closet for years and give it to anyone who really needs it.

Winter is arriving again in Europe and I ask you, what is the value of life, under a viaduct bridge or in the corner of your street? We all know that the cold can kill. That life on the streets can kill. We just forget that the indifference too.

*Projeto Ruas is a social project that works to promote the welfare and citizenship of the homeless population of Rio de Janeiro with information and encouragement through residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.

*Rio Invisível is a project on Facebook that seeks to reframe the homeless population in Rio de Janeiro and rethink the city model through storytelling.

Search for more information about social projects that help the homeless in your city. A little help from you can make all the difference in someone's life.