Salviamo i nostri anziani
The project is being implemented in the municipalities of 11 regions in Italy: Campania, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicily, Tuscany, Veneto.
Starting date
1 October 2020Duration
12 monthsRealized by:
Comunità di Sant’EgidioObjectives
Strengthening the tools to prevent and combat elderly isolation and fragility, by consolidating the operations centers of the “Viva gli Anziani!” (Long live the elderly) program in the cities involved. The project foresees at least a 20% increase in the number of operators/volunteers involved and a 25% increase in the number of elderly people involved (from 8,000 to 10,000).
Improving the quality and quantity of the interventions for elderly people, responding to the on-going health emergency. The project foresees that the number of telephone calls will increase by at least 20,000 compared to previous activities. Personalized interventions will be designed, such as home-delivery of groceries (food, medicines, hygiene products, etc.), specific support (picking up prescriptions, administrative paperwork, etc.), assistance interventions, distribution of essential goods to poor elderly people, transport services for urgent and mandatory medical appointments.
All over Europe, and even more so in Italy, the risk for social isolation and poverty for elderly people has dramatically increased in recent years. Today, during this serious emergency involving the whole country, their need for help is growing, and we need to make sure that no one is abandoned and forgotten.
The emergency has proven that local solidarity networks are fundamental to combat the situation of solitude and isolation so many live in, especially the most fragile individuals. The elderly are forced to avoid going out and this means they become more lonely. It is paramount to ensure that isolation doesn’t win by creating networks parallel to traditional care services, in order to reach the elderly population in a more frequent and capillary way.
The program adopts a proactive approach and it identifies all elderly people over 80 living in a target area, presenting activities and objectives and mapping the personal situation of each one. This enables to define adequate personalized interventions, understand which situations need monitoring, who needs local healthcare and social services and who needs social and economic support.
A daily phone call plan is drawn: each elderly person receives a phone call on their birthday and monitoring calls based on their situation. During the serious emergency in recent months, this approach has proven effective and has allowed for timely interventions so as to leave no one isolated and helpless.
Further reading:
Il Nuovo Rinascimento 702, 14 aprile 2021: “Salviamo i nostri anziani”
