Come eravamo: lo studio della povertà a Torino tra innovazione e dialogo con le politiche.

The article describes the changing background of a group of social researchers engaged in studying poverty and vulnerability in Turin from 1980’s to the first decade of 2000’s. Since the early 2000’s the researchers, inspired by Life Course approach, chose to collect the life transitions and experiences of stressful events of people who had fallen into poverty and were receiving social assistance. The «careers» of the poor (primarily women with children) were investigated through a longitudinal analysis based on social service-provided records, questionnaires and life narratives. Focusing on the institutional administration of the needs of poors, offered a new point of view about falling into, and escaping from poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]