Structural response needed for homelessness - Caritas

Over proposed tents at Termini station, 3 other areas in Rome

By: ansa.it

Aug 08 2024
18
3068 Views

Structural response needed for

Catholic charity Caritas on Thursday expressed "doubts" over proposed tents for the homeless at Rome's Termini station and in three other areas of the capital.
    Caritas director, Giustino Trincia, said the "doubt regards the possible concentration of frail people, some very frail, in the context of a problematic area which, as we know, has long been under a lot of pressure" with a critical situation that has deteriorated since the Covid pandemic. The proposal to set up tents for the homeless presented on Thursday could only be an "emergency and temporary measure because it does not represent one of those structural measures that would instead be indispensable" to tackle homelessness in the capital, said the Caritas chief.
    He called for an "organic intervention" to aid homeless people who mainly gather around Termini as well as in the other areas involved in the project - the Ostiense and Tiburtina stations and the area around St Peter's Square.
    Caritas instead called for an "increase of permanent and dignified housing solutions".
    Last month, Trincia warned that homelessness is Rome's most serious problem, stressing that an estimated 22,000 people are homeless.
    He added that "between 120,000 and 150,000 apartments are empty in Rome" calling for policies to tackle the emergency.