DEFENCE ACTION

Dom Luciano Mendes Defence Centre offers social and legal defence to children and adolescents who are under social and personal risk.

This work is responsible for the area of defence in São Martinho and includes the participation in debate forums and seminars to formulate public policies that ensure the defence of basic rights of young people. The Centre also stimulates the monitoring of public agencies in order to demand concrete actions from the State to guarantee the rights of children and adolescents. In addition, it maintains permanent contact with agencies and entities that struggle for human rights in Brazil and abroad, such as: ANCED (Associação Nacional dos Centros de Defesa, National Association of Defence Centres), CEJIL (Centro pela Justiça e o Direito Internacional, Centre for Justice and International Law), Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. It also organizes and supports manifestations for justice and citizenship.

In 2003, Caxias pilot project began — direct action with the community Parque Vila Nova (former Favela do Lixão) in Duque de Caxias city — with the purpose to strengthen the family bonds of the adolescents that were assisted by CSE in the area in 2002, and to stimulate the connection of families to the resources available in the community. In 2004, we established a partnership with the public school CIEP Lírio do Laguna, and they provided us a room for social attendance, lectures, and workshops for generating revenue. 39 families were attended. 18% of them are applying the techniques learned in the workshops to improve their socio-economic reality, generating income to complement the family budget.