Here comes the “Michelin Guide for the Poor”, to know where to eat, sleep and wash

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Rethink society starting with the last. This is the aim of the new edition of “Where to eat, sleep, wash,” a guide from the Community of Sant’Egidio for the homeless. For those who sleep in the cold, under the stars, in the rain or in the sun, for those who do not have hot food, for those who do not know where to go to wash. It is called “Michelin Guide for the Poor” and it explains in 265 pages all the useful addresses for those who live on the street. A help for the homeless and with the pandemic they found themselves no longer having those well-known landmarks for eating or sleeping. Help for those who have nothing before the cold emergency, aggravated by the health. Two and a half times more people have already gone to the dining rooms of Sant’Egidio. Food packages distributed have also more than doubled, from 7,500 per month last year to 18,750. 150,000 food packages were distributed from March to October. And the distribution centers have also multiplied, from three in addition to the table in via Dandolo to 28.

All indications also for medical clinics, day hospitals and listening centers

From emergency numbers, but above all to referrals to medical clinics, itinerant medical services, public clinics, infectious disease day hospitals, residences and hospitals. Also in the guide are the addresses of the listening, guidance and help centers, including the parish listening centers and the solidarity emporiums. Anti-usury centers and social and personal services are also reported. Everything with the relative schedules. A guide so that there are no more cases like that of Modesta Valenti, to whom the guide is dedicated. The woman, who lived at Termini Station, died unaided on January 31, 1983 because the ambulance refused to let her on board because of her filth. “This booklet – read the preface – is a compass that you should carry in your pocket to orient yourself in the city.” Places where you can receive help and welcome.

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Cold emergency, more places in Milan than in Rome

«There is a lot of talk about the new poor. I would like to point out that for homeless people everything is more difficult, considering that the places to sleep have decreased due to distance. It is true that there has been a call for a cold emergency, but it has not yet started “, stressed the president of the Community of Sant’Egidio, Marco Impagliazzo, during a press conference entitled” Rethinking society from the latest “. “What worries us – he continued – is that from a confrontation between Rome and Milan due to the cold emergency, it appears that Milan has activated 790 more seats and Rome only 300, while 800 manages them normally. This is an even greater disproportion. if we think of the fact that the City Council of Rome benefits instead from the support of a large network that provides 1,700 places to sleep to those without residence.

Appeal to the prefect: open shelters

San’Egidio launches a strong appeal to the institutions to open night shelters and integrated plans for cold and crisis emergencies. “Therefore, it is the appeal launched by Impagliazzo, the institutions should commit more to satisfy the needs of these poor people. Ours is an urgent call for proper plans for winter. Where do all these people go in bad weather? We ask – he added – that these structures be built urgently in Rome and we call on the prefect so that he can establish a network to find ready-to-use properties for the homeless: there are many barracks, there are hotels closed. That there is a control room for all this. There is an effort that we have noticed on the part of the Region, what we ask the prefecture is that they find places to sleep, we say it because we notice the slowness of the Municipality of Rome ”.

Shock absorbers for the vulnerable

And with the coronavirus affecting large sectors of the population, a new commitment to the community has emerged. “In the emergency – Impagliazzo explained – a new commitment to health was born. In collaboration with the S. Giovanni Addolorata, Bambin Gesù and Spallanzani hospitals, tampons are guaranteed for vulnerable sectors of the population. Among the beneficiaries, foreign citizens who do not have a family doctor cannot request a tampon through an electronic prescription ”.