Authorities in Rome have solely erected two of the 4 massive tents they’d promised to supply round 250 camp beds for the homeless this winter.
Within the spring of 2024, the Rome Metropolis Council allotted €4.3 million for 4 large tented shelters providing refuge in the course of the winter months. One was to be between Termini station and San Lorenzo, one close to Tiburtina station, one at Ostiense station, and one other near San Pietro station. Every was designed to accommodate as much as 70 folks day by day, working 24 hours a day.
Solely two of the tents prepared on the eve of the Jubilee
Nonetheless, on the eve of the Jubilee, solely two of them have been prepared for opening: the one close to Termini station, near the San Lorenzo district, which is able to finally home 40 folks, and the one at Piazzale dei Partigiani, close to Ostiense station, with an funding of roughly a million euros.
“All 4 marquees can be constructed. They’re continuing in response to plan and can be prepared for the beginning of the Jubilee,’ the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, insisted, referring to the marking of 2025, as a particular 12 months by the Vatican.
Rome has round 22,000 homeless folks
Along with the delays, the chosen plan, with round 240-250 shelter areas, stays an answer that can solely serve a small fraction of the homeless inhabitants.
Through the inauguration of the construction close to Ostiense station, Barbara Funari, the councillor for Social Insurance policies of the Municipality of Rome, emphasised that the town is working to develop its reception capabilities.
“By 2026, when the work is accomplished, we may have an extra 250 areas for second-stage lodging, in flats and small items unfold throughout the town,” Funari informed Euronews.
Through the “Night time of Solidarity” initiative, promoted by the Division of Social Insurance policies and Well being of Rome Capital on April 20, 2024, 2,204 homeless folks have been counted in Rome.
The bulk, 82.7%, have been males between the ages of 40 and 49, largely sleeping close to Termini and Tiburtina stations, in addition to in St. Peter’s Sq. and close to Tuscolana. The homeless inhabitants is primarily Italian, Romanian, Somali, and Moroccan.
Whereas this supplies a major pattern, it’s not adequate to precisely mirror the total scale of homelessness within the municipality.
“There isn’t a emergency in Rome,” Funari harassed in the course of the presentation of the info collected on the Campidoglio.
“The numbers give again the fact of the presence of homeless folks on the streets”, including, “We’re relying on growing the variety of locations by 200 a 12 months as a way to arrive at 2000 reception locations in Rome,” the councillor acknowledged.
However knowledge collected by the Nationwide Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) on the finish of 2022 suggests the issue is way worse.
ISTAT counted 23,420 homeless and homeless folks in 121 municipalities within the Rome metropolitan space, of which 22,162 within the capital alone, which hosts the best share in Italy. However even this report stays a partial snapshot of the state of affairs.
Poverty reaches a brand new peak in Italy
The Caritas Poverty Report 2024 highlights how absolute poverty in Italy has reached a brand new peak, involving 5.7 million folks, equal to nearly ten per cent of the inhabitants.
The report highlights how this situation of maximum want is just not solely financial, but in addition multidimensional, involving components comparable to entry to housing, well being and schooling.
ADVERTISEMENTIn accordance with ISTAT knowledge, 96,197 homeless folks have been counted in 2,198 Italian municipalities in2021.
Nonetheless, 50 per cent of them are concentrated in simply six municipalities, with Rome internet hosting the best share, 23 per cent. The capital is adopted by Milan with 9 per cent, Naples (7 per cent), Turin (4.6 per cent), Genoa (3 per cent) and Foggia (3.7 per cent).
As emphasised by the European Parliament, entry to first rate housing is a elementary human proper. On this foundation, MEPs referred to as on EU Member States in a decision on 24 November 2020 to “finish homelessness by 2030.” They advised creating an EU framework of nationwide methods, which might embody allocating extra funds on the state degree.
