Back in 2019 São Paulo authorities estimated the city's homeless population in about 25,000 people. Figures have not been updated since but there are signs that the economic crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic further increased these number.

Catholic priest Julio Lancelotti has been working to ease the suffering and to help these people for nearly four decades and his work has been widely recognized as extremely important in this health emergency.

Father Lancelotti told his story to CGTN.

Watch our full series: Brazil: The Human Cost of COVID-19 at https://america.cgtn.com/?p=641686

Check out The China Report, our new weekly newsletter. Subscribe here!