Background
Moradia Associação Civil was established in São Paulo in 1993, with the specific purpose of making available very basic, popular houses to people in need and who are homeless or who have to make do with substandard dwellings. Being an entity devoted to helping others, Moradia is therefore a non-profit organization. It keeps total independence from politicians, political parties, labor unions, faith denominations, etc.. From 1993 to May of 1996 (note: do we have info which is more current?) Moradia has already helped 14 families to leave the streets and buy their own shack, with electricity and running water, and in 1996 Moradia opened Casa Taiguara to offer day and night shelter to street kids.
Our Vision
We want to offer a viable alternative to homelessness, to hunger and to human misery.
Our Mission
We want to offer to society valid alternatives in the prevention of these anguishing problems, as well as services to those who are victimised by circumstances. We want to save boys and girls from a situation of total despair, from the threats to their survival, welcoming them 24 hours a day. During their stay with us, they are provided with food, hygiene and personal care, shelter, health care, orientation, education and love. By doing this, we enable them to hope to achieve, in due time, a decent, healthy life.
Our Short-term Objectives
In order to achieve our ongoing goal, which is to be in a position to enlarge the quantity of children we can welcome, our short-term objectives are:
· Maintenance and improvements of Casa Taiguara
· Establishment of a Second Casa Taiguara
· Purchase of a land plot and construction of a Centre for Shelter and Training.
· Establishment of a professionally-run structure for fund-raising.
· Creation of a program for branching-out (franchising) future Casas Taiguara.
· Upgrade of the human resources of Moradia
Come and Visit Us!!!
These photos [Fotos] will give you a glimpse of the work that Casa Taiguara, with love and respect for the children, does:

A solution exists to save the street children, it is the shelter open 24 hours as a half- way house with rules and foluntary participation by the kids. But it is necessary first to explain some facts.
1)Why Brazil has street children?
The great majority of the children and adolescents of the street ran away from their homes due to maltreatment. Therefore there is no advantage to immediately return them to the family. It is necessary to receive them and spend the night while still they are in trouble.

2)How many they are the children of street in Brazil?
The street children are relatively few, but in greater São Paulo city today probably has the biggest number in the world. It has more than 1500 children and adolescents sleeping in the street. They are about 460 in Porto Alegre, the maximum is some hundreds in each great Brazilian city.

3)Which the difference between child of street and child in the street?
Child of street is that one that sleeps in the street, in the call "mocó ", in general she is bare-footed, dirty and very lean. It is a very different situation of the child who sells things, this child has a place to sleep. She works in the street to help the family, but she has shoes or slippers and she is cleaner, in general.

4)Why don't the Government do something about the problem of the street children?
Because they lack small houses that receive day and night the young from street and reinstate them into society. The Military Policy and the citizens do not know where to take these children.

5)Why aren't there children of the street in some countries, for example in the ones of the Europe?
Because in these countries when the child runs away from house, the policeman takes it until the Police station where she is directed to a safe house to sort out any problems.

The life in the street is very hard and arrives the moment where the young wants to leave this situation, it needs a complete alternative that the safe house offers. This is what we make the Houses Taiguara and Taiguarinha since 1996 in the center of São Paulo, taking children off of the street and placing in the schools. The young drug dependents are ordered to get clean in the 'Mansions of Desintoxicação' and in São Paulo, at the cost of 400 Reals for month, they have excellent results. The children and the young have a wonderful recovery, even though those that had more smelled glue or thinners or more they had smoked crack. We now have experience of nine years in this.

How does the safe house work 24 hours?
In the first place, each house must be small, about twenty beds, a house for the children up to 12 years, another separate one for the adolescents. The team of educators insists on good behaviour from the young kids. The kids know that it does not have only rights, they also have duties, the main one being to participate in the tasks of the house and to study with the professors to prepare for the return to the school. The social assistant of the house goes to regularize the situation of the kids to make sure it meets in accordance with the Law and is instigate regular work with the family to verify the reintegration possibility. These few rules save lives, prevent the violence and get true "miracles".

The exit from the safe houses are authorized by the Educators who follow each child in case of problems and know when the young deserves this confidence. Therefore it is an half-open environment. If the boy or the young woman does not obey the rules this can lead, as in soccer, yellow card or until they receive a red card and lose the aid of the house. When the young leave the street and the drugs, and the deliquencia, start studying or working, he or she will be promoted to the one República of young, until completing its independence.

The safe houses must work day and night to receive directly off the street because when the young search for a safe house it is that they are asking for aid. For our experience each house of 20 beds receives about 40 kids per month, this would be enough therefore if a few sets of ten or so houses to take care of to all the children of street of São Paulo. Those who want more concrete information can visit the Taiguara House in the street Vicente the Prado 93 by appointment. We want to multiply our work because we know that it is the solution to the problem of the street children.

Casa| |Institucional| |Prestação de contas| |Fotos|  |Como nos ajudar| |Contato|

On the left is Casa Taiguara and on the right Sr. Daniel stands outside the entrance to the new house named Casa Taiguarinha, which will be for children under 8 years old. The over 8's will continue at the original house next door. Having two houses means the younger children will not be intimidated by the older ones and being next door to each other means the staff will be able to run both shelters efficiently.