• Snow in Rome, strong slowdown in train and air traffic. Risk of chaos in transport
  • Rome is also the capital of poverty. Caritas: 16 thousand homeless, new poor even in the middle class
  • Snow in Rome, suppressed trains and delays of hours. The testimonies from the Termini station

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26 February 2018The great cold and the snow have created hardship for many, from travelers to commuters, but those who have more problems than normal are certainly the homeless and all the people who live in a state of discomfort, often on the street and without the possibility of find a safe shelter. Throughout Italy, therefore, institutions and associations are activated for solidarity assistance to the homeless, not without controversy, especially in large cities.

Milan: appeal to citizens for assistance to the homeless
In Milan there are still "hundreds of vacancies in the structures", with a capacity of reception which, the Municipality recalls, has been strengthened "up to around 2,700 beds available for the entire week in which the wave is expected of frost ”. There are 15 structures in the Milan area, and five of these have increased the number of beds available. The councilor for social policies of Palazzo Marino, Pierfrancesco Majorino, then asked all the Milanese to give "a hand to deal with this extraordinary cold, signaling with a phone call the homeless who sleep in the street and giving them first aid". To intercept those who do not come spontaneously to the centers to request a shelter for the night, the Municipality, in collaboration with 19 associations, has prepared a minimum of eight mobile units that every evening sift through the streets of the city to distribute blankets and hot drinks and to convince those who are wary of accepting indoor accommodation.

Rome: more seats but still an emergency
Also in Rome ad hoc structures have been set up, as the municipal councilor for social affairs, Laura Baldassarre, has recalled, and "work continued all night to strengthen the reception system already operating all year round". Summing up the ordinary reception circuit, the Cold Plan and the additional facilities made available for these days, the capital "is guaranteeing around 1700 places. Only during this night, 137 homeless and frail people have been taken off the streets, thanks to the work of the Social Operations Room and brought to the facilities ". The additional places compared to the ordinary situation are about 400, but for the Community of Sant'Egidio there are about 3 thousand homeless people who live on the street and "the next night, when the temperatures in Rome will drop below zero, they risk dying of exposure." The volunteers of the Baobab migrant center also raise an alarm, according to which "the next few days will be very hard". The tents where the migrants find shelter "are completely covered with snow, with only a few people who managed to find a night shelter", and pallets, plastic pallets, firewood, hot food and drinks are therefore needed "urgently". And for the first time, an anti-cold reception point has been set up in Rome for homeless people accompanied by animals. An initiative "unique, which has avoided painful separations in the past responsible for refusing the assistance offered", as pointed out by the president of the Campidoglio Environment Commission, Daniele Diaco. The shelter is located at the Red Cross headquarters in Via Ramazzini and also includes veterinary assistance "and the distribution of pesticide products donated by the Balzoo association".

Campania, Bologna and Genoa are activated
Even in Campania, intervention plans for the cold emergency towards the homeless have already started yesterday. The subway stations are open as usual in Naples, in particular that of the Museum. The Community of Sant'Egidio continues the extraordinary collection of blankets, woolen hats, sleeping bags, thermos and comfort items that will be distributed during the itinerant dinners that the Community offers throughout the year to the homeless, initiatives that these days they are multiplied. The mayor of Salerno, Vincenzo Napoli, has ordered the extension of the reception service for the homeless in the structure of Via dei Carrari. Until the cold emergency ends, in the adjacent Elpis social restaurant hot meals will be offered to those who find shelter in the facility. In Bologna, as part of the cold plan of the municipality, operators will leave every morning at dawn from 5.30 am to 9.30 am until Sunday to intercept people who are on the road in these days of particularly cold temperatures. This is a strengthening of daily work that has intensified in recent days with the daily release of street services and the provision of 30 more places in reception facilities. In Genoa the first night of great cold has removed almost all the homeless from the streets: the only two homeless that the delegation of councilors and volunteers met in their mission in the city pallets politely declined the proposal to move with sleeping bags and blankets in a heated room. Better the thermic zero and the solitude, at least for them.