Street outreach office: attention to people on psychoactive drug/substance

Abstract

The present study aimed at investigating professional practices and characteristics of intervention with young adults living in the streets who make use of psychoactive substances (PAS), according to perceptions of Street Outreach Office (SOO) professionals in the city of Goiânia and of people served by the SOO. Participants were nine different categories of professionals, aged between 24 and 64 years old, four PAS users aged between 23 and 37 years old, alcohol and crack users. The methodology was of qualitative type with semi-structured interviews and used content analysis. The results based on reports from professionals configured the following theme axes: professional work at the SOO; facilitating aspects; difficulties; support needed for the work. The users’ themes were: first contact with the team, the work of the SOO professionals, the most interesting thing about this work. There was consistency between the perceptions and positive aspects in the reports from professionals and PAS users about the work of the SOO, characterized by listening, reception and bond. The difficulties cited were: prejudice and lack of acceptance from civil society towards users; aggressive actions by the Military Police and the Municipal Guard; and lack of provisions for the work. The study indicated that the governing principles of the actions of the SOO are in accordance with those recommended by the public policy in the area of alcohol and other drugs in Brazil, based on respect for human rights, expansion of access to actions and services, and harm reduction to the users’ health.