Description
This thesis discusses the affective relationship that follows the encounter of children and their caregivers in shelters, taking into consideration the later own life experiences. The research presents a qualitative study about the complex intertwining of stories of the individuals involved. In one hand, the caregivers or educators, women who undertake their own struggles in life while dealing with a primitive work environment, where they must embrace children who are both neglected by their own families and by Public Policies. Their stories intersect in the struggles: to care for and to protect these children, while acknowledging them as subjects of civil rights in a context seen by the institution as violent and of abandonment, bring back the caregiver‘s own struggles and create a context of empathy. Based on Winnicott, we analyze what are the main fundamentals to offer those children and how to define and optimize the caregivers‘ role. In addition, by analyzing both the past and current realities of the professionals (Guirado 1987; 2002), we discuss about the intertwining forces inside this intersubjective relationship. In other words, we aim to investigate the meaning of affection and the ways the involved parts demonstrate it versus the guidelines the institution would need to provide. By examining the narrative of seven caregivers along with observation of their routine in the shelters, as well as combining information from the shelter‘s official written notes, we found a strong correlation between the lives of educators and children, with the institution being the biggest divergence since it will affect the perception of otherness. That means the educator empathize and feel compelled to provide care, however, is simply not able to provide sufficient refuge. It is clear that all involved need asylum, including the caregivers since they all strongly idealize the institution of the family. Therefore, this study intends to clarify the challenges faced by the shelters when dealing with providing refuge, since the caregivers‘ background and feelings will play an important role on how they care for the children. We suggest new approaches, from research and public policies standpoints in order to create ultimately new alternatives to improve care to sheltered children.
