The Tio Cleobaldo Association is a philanthropic, non-profit organization. It started its operations in 1977 and was officially regularized in 2009. It is located at R-14 street, Nº 151, R-15 Lt 12 Setor Oeste. Registered in the CNPJ: 11.308.531/0001-62, having as its main activity the distribution of ready-made food to homeless people. During this COVID-19 period, it prepared and distributed more than 2,000 meals every week.

Our mission is to reduce through social care the vulnerability of homeless people of all ages with actions that provide dignity and aim at family and social reintegration. Homeless people who temporarily live on the streets usually seek safe places, such as the Joaquim Lúcio square. That square is centrally located and easily accessible. It is a safe place to spend the night. The homeless “community” is a community that lives on the move and sleeps scattered in various places where they are best sheltered.

Goiânia is a hospitable city. It has set up well-known points where various care groups deliver food, medicine, clothing to temporarily relieve the needs of the homeless. The homeless community consists of people of various age groups, ranging from children to the elderly, who for different reasons are living on the streets.

Some of those reasons of homelessness are the breakdown of family life due to abuse, drugs, alcohol, loss of employment, financial difficulties leading to the loss of the home. Homeless people seek the help of responsible bodies. They seek help in places where care groups take the food they need. There was already a large number of people living in the streets before the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of the lack of employment or the breakdown of the family ties. During the pandemic, as many companies, restaurants and other workplaces closed their doorst, it has been more difficult to communicate with homeless people and let them know where they can find help.

When cars stopped at the traffic lights, drivers no longer opened their windows. This has an impact on the street merchants. Churches and many other places also closed leaving them with little or no information [or misinformation] of what is happening in the town. As a result, now more gthan ever the homeless are the invisible members of society. Without the possibility of asking for help, of talking to someone, of taking a shower or finding places to eat and drink water, they sometimes become disoriented; do not understand what is happening around them. They also face the aggression of the police.

The Tio Cleobaldo Association, which has been operating for more than 40 years, began an intense work at the beginning of the pandemic, making on average more than 2000 meals every day. We also seek to sensitize civil society to help us with donations and offer the help of qualified volunteer professionals in the health area in order to help the homeless population in relation to COVID-19. This has allowed us to provide specific care and deliver thousands of masks, hygiene kits and clean clothes.

We also install community toilets so that our actions bring dignity to this population. With our specific actions we can bring information and all the support needed in the most critical moments in Goiânia. Our relationship with these people is based on love with no religious ties. The Joaquim Lúcio Square located in the Campinas sector is one of those places with the highest concentration of homeless people of the Capital. We find addicts, women, children, homosexuals, elderly people and many others who live nearby and are below the poverty line. The Tio Cleobaldo Association has a Social Worker and trained volunteers. They can answer questions and doubts during this difficult period.