Creating life skills in children and youth experiencing social difficulties in an institution in Pereira

Introduction: In terms of vulnerability, children and adolescents externalize restrictions to regular access to services, basic rights, low perception of risks and deficient accompaniment by caregivers in family spaces, leading to the probability of exploring other contexts little encouraging positive reinforcement, leaving participants at greater disposition of social vulnerability. Objective: to develop life skills in children and youth who experience social difficulties and attend a Foundation in Pereira. Materials and methods: qualitative study with an action-participatory research approach, where the participants retained an active role in the process to determine the most deficient life skills and through interventions proceeded to positive transformations. Data collection was carried out through a semi-structured interview with individual children and adolescents between 5 and 20 years of age, providing support from the disciplinary point of view with the theory of Nola J. Pender regarding the creation of healthy behaviors as risk minimizing mechanisms. Results: The participants were able to see in the intervention spaces components favoring change, the attraction towards the use of spaces of affective harmony allowed them to leave chaotic worlds, developing self-reflexivity and positive strategies in skills that allow them to live in society in a harmonious way. Conclusions: the approach to childhood and youth requires the alignment and extension of strategies to family environments.