Background and Objective: The increase in poverty, unemployment and social inequality in Brazil in recent years has led to an increase in the number of people living in new urban slums. The Objective of this work was to analyze studies linked to an ongoing university third mission program in an urban slum in São Paulo - Brazil. Methods: Content analysis of the results of 15 surveys conducted over 5 years with urban slum dwellers. Results: The research themes emerged from the dialogical interaction between students, teachers and community in the territory of the slum. It was found that social inequality, increased poverty and unemployment determine health problems related to food insecurity, low education, precarious housing, prejudice, and greater difficulty in access to health services and treatments, which intensified after the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. Primary Health Care, in the way it is organized, is not able to adequately perceive the suffering of highly vulnerable and poorly organized communities, such as the women who live in the shantytown studied who revealed suffering related to precarious housing, transience, social isolation, silencing and violence. The residents choose unique therapeutic itineraries, preferring emergency services to primary care health units near the slum, because of the uncertainty about their definitive permanence in the new territory. Rules and norms for combating the spread of Covid-19 that are effective for other groups in society may not be appropriate for communities living in slums with high social vulnerability that must therefore be approached uniquely. Conclusions: University third mission program of the academic social type is crucial for the university to realize the main problems that affect poor communities living in new slums, and to be able to envision more effective and unique forms of care.