All year round on the street to offer first aid
The condition of those living on the streets is one of the most severe forms of material deprivation and exclusion, resulting in the loss of civil, social, and health rights.
First aid is here.
All year round, with our Street Units, we assist homeless people and provide a concrete response to the most urgent primary needs.
In the last year:
47 K
aid interventions
339 K
meals distributed
5953
People helped
Street assistance
In Milan, Rome, and Naples, our operators and volunteers are engaged in a crucial frontier job: distributing hot meals, delivering essential goods such as sleeping bags and hygiene kits, and monitoring the most vulnerable cases. Above all, we create a point of contact between those living on the streets and local support services.
The distribution of food and comfort items is, indeed, part of help that is never just material.
The goal is to establish a relationship of listening and trust: an essential first step to bring the people we meet closer to the social and health services and shelters in the city.
Street emergency: we do not leave anyone alone
Street assistance intensifies during the winter months, the most dramatic for those sleeping in sub-zero temperatures without shelter from the cold and inclement weather. The collaboration of citizens is crucial: thanks to their reports, the Street Units, interconnected with each other, move to reach the most vulnerable homeless individuals, assess their conditions on-site, offer support and listening, and provide the necessary assistance.
In Milan, for the most critical situations, we run Piccolo Rifugio, an overnight shelter for homeless individuals identified by our Street Units who need emergency accommodation.
To respond to the most urgent needs of those living on the streets, there is Casa Arca Varese: a multifunctional daytime hub offering services ranging from food and personal care to medical and legal assistance – a place where people in need can find friendly faces and qualified professionals.
Both Piccolo Rifugio and Casa Arca Varese serve as safe havens from life on the streets, spaces of protection and rights advocacy. They also play a key role as bridges toward more structured accommodation pathways, either within our own centers or those of partner organizations.
Talking to the Street Unit volunteers helped me immensely to stay connected to who I was — and, above all, to who I could become again.
Igor
On the streets of seven cities with food trucks
Along the streets of Milan, Turin, Padua, Rome, Bacoli, Naples and Bari, we are also present with our food trucks to serve hot and complete meals to the individuals we assist, who, due to their living conditions, struggle to access healthy and adequate food. Tested during the pandemic, this service has become a structural part of our street presence, with over 6,200 lunches, dinners, and breakfasts served each week by our volunteers.
This is a new way to meet needs and provide care and attention to those who lack it.
With dinner, we especially bring a relationship.
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