Social insertion income: the contribution of the association "Qualificar para Incluir" towards enhancing this policy

Abstract

Strong constraints limit the potential of the Social Insertion Income (SII) policy to fight the resurgence of material poverty and the current loss of social cohesion. The right to insertion is seriously compromised by the chronic deficit of job opportunities and the withdrawal of the Welfare State. However, by translating scientific knowledge of economic, social and symbolic exclusion into modes of action, it is possible to take advantage of the narrow scope of institutional power that remains in the scope of local intervention. Raising the social and cultural capital of SII beneficiaries in order to reformulate their habitus and promoting their return to training in order to acquire an effective asset for their professional and social life are the main axes of the social experiments undertaken by the association Qualificar para Incluir.