The project “RESTAURANDO ESPERANÇA” (Restoring Hope) aims to tackle social exclusion between children and adolescents, deriving from drug use, associated with problems such as physical and sexual violence, school failure, mental health disorders, lack of access to appropriate education, health, housing, etc.- conditions characteristic of selective and unequal societies such as the Brazilian one.

The purpose of this current project is achieving adherence to the treatment of youth, promoting social inclusion, prevention and treatment against the use of alcohol and drugs, restoring their health and quality of life.

The GEAL/UFF and IPHEM Health Group, part of this Project, attends to a public between 10 and 18 years old, living at social risk and/or using alcohol and drugs.

The Pizzeria-School is a project that aims to train low-income young people.

In order to increase attendance and to provide a longer stay of youths in the Living Center, the Health Group and the Pizzeria-School have associated and that resulted in a new concept of therapeutic approach.

This association resulted in a group called “Kitchen's Talk” with a surprising adhesion and full attendance.

The “Kitchen's Talk” provides a less formal atmosphere and makes participants more comfortable during the group chat. At the end of the lesson, the encounter between the youth and their families, mediated by the therapeutic team, is celebrated with tasty pizzas, as a result of the work and the commitment of each individual, allowing the redefinition of values and the building of new family ties.