Well-Being and Well-Living: New Directions in Social Assistance Based in Psychosocial Esteem

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the conceptions of well-being and well-living and good living in the current social context and their actions in public policies, especially in the field of national policy of social assistance with the System Social Assistance System (SUAS), carried out in Brazil. Faced with the current crisis, we place special emphasis on initiatives aimed at possible solutions to minimize social inequalities exacerbated by the current environmental, health, economic, and social crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. From this perspective, we present a case study associated with the protection of women’s rights. This is the Special Coordination of Policies for Women linked to the Social Assistance Secretariat of the Municipality of Valinhos, State of São Paulo. This service’s mission is to articulate municipal public policies for women to face the various types of violence in the family, as well as guaranteed women’s rights by reducing vulnerability and social and economic inequalities. For this emancipatory study, we discussed the category of psychosocial esteem – taking care of oneself and others in the individual, group, institutional, and community spheres – in the practice of this service. In all these areas of care, there are conflicting and resolving links between people and institutions. This was demonstrated in three examples: (a) first diagnosis on violence against women and the proposal for a combat plan, (b) women’s income generation group, and (c) the case of Ceci. The results of the analysis of these actions indicate that the expansion of personal, group, institutional, and community awareness of the construction of communication processes (problematic, welcoming, and democratic) can generate various links both for confronting domestic violence and for reducing economic inequality and social gender even partially.