This article analyzes the perceptions of a group of youth from the lower economic levels of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, about the repercussions of social programs on their affective/sexual and educational/professional trajectories. From a comparative perspective, we examined the perspectives, practices, and conditions of life of 42 boys and girls, between 18 and 24 years of age, who did and did not participate in social projects directed at professionalizing and promoting the population. In particular, we discuss the impacts of interventions on concepts of health and AIDS, on indicators of social mobility and professionalization, and on the formation of social networks, including the dimension of gender. We sought to address the effects of civic organizations on the low-income youth population, in the context of socioeconomic crisis and of few social policy advances. We emphasize that in spite of the limitations of such interventions in the greater social context, the experience of social support promoted by the projects contributes to the expansion of life perspectives and the symbolic capital of this social group, with positive impacts for the health field.
Social Support; Social Programs; Youth