Collective actions and solidarity networks in working with young people in the (post) pandemic context

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened a series of challenges already present in the daily lives of young people, such as job and income instability, relationships with school, and access to social rights. In this context, social occupational therapy gains even more relevance by connecting citizenship, human and social rights as central axes in working with groups and territories marked by vulnerability. This article presents an experience report developed by members of the Metuia Laboratory/UFPB with young people from a community association in the city of João Pessoa, PB, Brazil, both during the pandemic and in the post-pandemic period. Throughout this period, the construction of solidarity networks and collective mobilization were the focus of social occupational therapy actions with young people in this territory. The “Jovens Solidários” project emerged from the initiative of the young people in the community themselves, who organized themselves to meet emerging needs in the pandemic context. From the creation of a support network, they involved different partners and social movements, expanding the scope of the actions. Within this collective construction, anchored in social occupational therapy, the idea of the “viable unprecedented” is strengthened: solidarity becomes a driver of social transformation and a possible path to reinvent other presents and futures.