“Never seen anything like it, it’s a social crisis”
Sister Raffaella Spiezio, the director of Caritas is speaking: “280 new cases of poverty have occurred in the last three weeks.”
Watch out, Livorno is hungry. And we are only at the beginning. The worst is yet to come. Sister Raffella Spiezio, director of Caritas, had said it to Il Tirreno newspaper exactly eleven days ago. And the worst has come. Thirteen new cases of poverty per day in the past three weeks. People with empty houses, without work following the “total block” caused by the coronavirus.
And without money. Not even for small expenses. “There are those who ask for financial help to renew their identity card, others are unable to pay their bills. The situation is critical, we are in difficulty. We risk not being able to help everyone, our accounts are suffering.”
For many, their job has ceased several weeks back. And Livorno suffers, while the Caritas switchboards are being stormed every day by hundreds of phone calls. “I am hungry and I have no money to go shopping”, is the most common phrase that reaches the operators’ ears. “In so many years of solidarity – says Sister Raffaella – I have never seen anything like it.”
The new poor
From the beginning of the coronavirus emergency, Caritas of Livorno has made a service available to citizens. It is called “Hello, I’m listening [Pronto, ti ascolto]” and there a number (0586 884693), active from 9:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, which people who need help can contact. Any kind of help. From 18 March to today there have been just under 800 calls. Of these, 280 in the last three weeks have been made by citizens who had never contacted Caritas.
“They are people who lost their jobs after the closure of the country due to the virus – explains Sister Raffaella – or who perhaps did small jobs in the private economy just to keep up, and who now find themselves completely without money.” But the elderly also call Caritas. “Especially those who have children living at some distance and who cannot see them. Someone just needs a little company. Others cannot go shopping by themselves,” Sister Raffaella continues. When the phone rings, Caritas answers and the user’s request is noted. Then a check is made to find out if that person actually needs help. Then the citizen is contacted again to agree on how to support the caller. “We don’t give out money – Sister Raffaella points out – if a person has to pay a bill, for example. We have it sent to us and we pay it, after making sure that this person is facing a truly difficult situation. Cases are growing exponentially.”
Fear and shame
For those who have never asked for help, it’s not easy to break the ice and admit that they can’t do it alone. “It is almost shameful to turn to Caritas – says Sister Raffaella – and for this reason the work of our telephone operators is very important. They must break down the wall of timidity and understand the difficulties of those who ask us for help.” The Caritas of Livorno has 65 volunteers and 11 operators, engaged daily in the service of the community.
Numbers and figures
In the past month Caritas has delivered food parcels to over two thousand people in the city. Of those,60%. are Italians. In addition, more than 1,300 hot meals were delivered to homes. “It is not a fictitious story but the truth. Many people have nothing to eat. For many it is a real nightmare, and asking for food is not easy. But when you are hungry you also find the courage to lift the receiver,” says Sister Raffaella. Certainly in the past three weeks the crisis has tightened its grip on the city. “The recent increase in cases of poverty should not be underestimated. In addition to Caritas, Sister Raffaella Spiezio points out – many other associations are working to help the people of Livorno in difficulty.” Seniors, families, young people. The crisis knows no age.
And in some neighborhoods of the city the situation is particularly delicate. “The neighborhoods of Salviano, Korea, and Shanghai are areas where there are numerous requests for help. Support, money and work are needed. The moment is really critical. Livorno is facing a profound social crisis.”
Article by Tommaso Silvi published in “Il Tirreno” on April 27, 2020
