ABSTRACT
Social exclusion may be understood as subjective awareness by an individual that he or she has been excluded from what may be considered to be basic needs or resources in the context of socially approved models and the social identity which derives from participation. In fact, before accessing social assistance resources and programmes and in order to activate the opportunities available in the area for confronting and satisfying basic needs, the interviewee is included in the informal networks of the street people. The very awareness of a service which provides resources, the image which the service has, its accessibility, the relevance which the service is perceived to have to the individuals’ problems, and the social value of the resources, are determined by the communication network within which the needy individuals interact. Both Bologna and Barcelona differ greatly from Stockholm, where social assistance is exclusively provided by public agencies that control the allocation of different welfare provisions.
