De volta para casa program (Back home program) in its beneficiaries’ daily lives

Abstract

This article presents the methodological course of a multi-territorial and multi-method research, which evaluated the effects of the De Volta para Casa Program (PVC – Back Home Program) in the process of social reintegration of people who had long periods of psychiatric hospitalization. PVC was established by the Law No. 10,708/2003 to fulfill a fundamental role in redirecting mental health care in Brazil and consists of a financial aid that facilitates the process of deinstitutionalization and social reintegration of its beneficiaries. In each municipality, a Research Monitoring Committee (CAP) was implemented, composed of beneficiaries, workers and representatives of the local community. The history of PVC was obtained through documentary analysis and interviews with the main actors responsible for the implementation of the program. Through participant observation and individual and collective interviews, we sought an approach to the daily life of the beneficiaries, aiming at the elaboration of narratives about their life story. Finally, the progresses and challenges in the construction of affective networks and psychosocial support were analyzed. The conclusion is that PVC has effectively promoted important individual gains to the beneficiaries, contributing to their social insertion in the daily life of the cities. Moreover, it proves to be equally important in the path of building citizenship and increasing contractual power in the context of the Brazilian Psychiatric Reform.