Carolina talked about two boys wandering the streets of the favela who came from the city shelters. In the shelters, there were innocent abandoned or orphaned children, but also young criminals condemned to stay there. The two groups were grouped together and treated as if they were all sentenced to prison. Carolina wrote: “I felt that in the state shelter the morals of the children were lowered. […] What is missing? Concern for the unfortunate or money from the State? (81). Whether it was babies dying in the favela or children falling into poverty, favelado families were doomed to misfortune. Carolina's older children were still in school, but they contributed to the family income, as was common at the time, by going begging or collecting paper and trash with her. Brazil's favelas bred the destruction of innocence and children grew up quickly, as when "Joaquim's son went to school drunk" (130). The intersectionality of race and class was also relevant. Racism and classism have prevented poor and impoverished children from having any opportunity to improve their situation.