Woman who lived on the street is a partner of TJRJ in action for civil registration

An intermediary between the government and the vulnerable population. This is the role assumed by Vânia Rosa during the activities of the National Civil Registry Week in Rio de Janeiro. She, who has already lived on the streets, currently coordinates social projects that work in partnership with different public agencies. “When I got help and had my treatment, I found something I didn’t know about: human rights. I think of the Vânias who are on the streets, who need to know about this. So, I’m going to the streets with the project to give them the same access , as a form of welcoming and showing the path I took so that today I can be a person with dignity, treated, cared for and back home. In other words, existing”, she said. The National Civil Registry Week is an initiative that takes place across the country coordinated by the National Council of Justice (CNJ) with the aim of assisting vulnerable people, especially those on the streets or living in shelters, in addition to the general public without documentation. In Rio de Janeiro, a joint effort began this Tuesday (9) and runs until Thursday (11), from 8 am to 1 pm, at Expedicionário Square, in the city center. Court of Justice promotes campaign for civil registration and services for homeless people in downtown Rio de Janeiro – Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil Activities in the Rio de Janeiro capital are carried out by the Corregedoria Geral da Justiça do Estado do Rio de Janeiro and Itinerant Justice of the Court of Justice of Rio de Janeiro (TJRJ). Through partner organizations, the mutirão also offers services such as a haircut, bath, shave and application of flu and covid-19 vaccines. “You can only set up a service like this, of this size, if there is an interface with street leaders. TJRJ already has the Itinerant Justice Program for many years and, with that, we already have contact with several leaders like Vânia Rosa. It is through them that we are able to bring people in”, highlighted the coordinator of the TJRJ Itinerant Justice Program, judge Cristina Tereza Gaulia. According to her, this is the first major event focused on civil registration aimed mainly at the homeless population in Rio de Janeiro. Service is free. Birth certificates are issued for those who never had one, inaccessible duplicates, rectifications and other documents such as marriage certificate, identity card, Individual Taxpayer Registration (CPF), reservist certificate, voter registration. According to the judge, the promotion of the task force to the homeless population was carried out with the support of the leaders with whom the Itinerant Justice Program has been working for many years. Judge Cristina Gaulia talks about the civil registration task force in downtown Rio de Janeiro – Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil “More than a month ago, these leaders received the news that there would be a task force and they helped us publicize why they are on the street. The vast majority of this population does not have access to television, radio, cell phones and many do not even know how to read. So, we have to work with oral disclosure with credibility. For this reason, we look for street people, who are already involved with this population. I believe that this event will be a success and that there will be others”, said the coordinator. Vânia said that she was homeless for 15 years and that she had the privilege of accessing assistance services and meeting people from public institutions. With that, she was able to resume her life away from the streets and drug addiction. She currently coordinates the projects Joining the Shards with Art (JUCA) and the JUCA Solidarity Bath, which assists homeless people. With a small trailer consisting of two showers (male and female), an external sink for oral hygiene and distribution of hygiene kits obtained through donations in partnership with the public authorities, the initiative tries to give a little dignity to this population . “Since this alone does not make their rights effective, we need more, so we work in a solidary service network, linked to the public authorities”, said Vânia. For her, only the government cannot meet the needs of this population, as they are very complex. For this reason, she considers that partnerships with organized civil society make it possible to achieve greater goals. Under-registration In Brazil, according to CNJ data, almost 3 million people do not have a birth certificate. The president of the TJRJ, Judge Ricardo Rodrigues Cardozo, highlights the importance of the concentrated effort to eradicate under-registration. “This event is essential to ensure that those who are without documentation can regularize their situation and fully enjoy their rights as citizens. The lack of basic documents, such as the birth certificate, makes it difficult to access various services and benefits provided by the government . It will be a great opportunity for those who need to recover or acquire these documents for free and with the support of various public bodies”, noted the judge. This is the case of Marco Antônio Gomes, 46 years old, resident of Olaria, who lost all his documents, including his birth certificate, and now needs them to return to the job market. Maria Lourdes de Souza, 71, a resident of Santa Cruz, said she never had a birth certificate. “With the death of my parents and my brother, who was the one who took care of me, I was lost. I tried to get the certificate other times, but it didn’t work”. She and a friend found out about the mutirão on the radio and arrived at 5 am. “Let’s get all the documents out here. When we want it, we have to go after it, right?”, She stressed. Eriston Araújo, 54 years old, from Nilópolis, reported that he has been homeless for two years. “I was a mason, I lost my job, I had family friction and I came to the street. I was robbed and I was left without all my documents. Now I want to get my documents to go back to work”. *Intern under the supervision of Léo Rodrigues

Agência Brasil