It was presented on April 1st Poverty Report 2021 of the series «A point of view» of Caritas of Rome. Now in its fifth edition, the volume - 154 pages full of infographics and tables - documents the numerous initiatives promoted by the parishes of Rome in the last two years of the pandemic.
In the Report, which has the theme "False restarts?", there is also a section dedicated to the economic-social scenario of the Capital and an analysis on the effectiveness of the measures implemented as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (Pnrr ) which concern social exclusion.
The photograph of the city that the 2021 Poverty Report offers is that of a city poised between the temptation to retreat from the deep wounds inflicted by the pandemic and the desire to seize the notable opportunities offered by the PNRR, the next Jubilee of 2025 and the possible assignment of Expo 2030 to Rome as the capital. Unprecedented opportunities to transform Rome and make it a less unequal metropolis and where it is easier and above all more humane to live with dignity.
The extraordinary proof of solidarity that we witnessed precisely in the harshest period of the pandemic allows us to cultivate hope, and with it the confidence, of being able to make it. Hope is a feeling that goes beyond emotion and is rooted in positive perceptions, a sense of trust, attention and the recognition of a system to relate to.
However, it is not something measurable, even if the most recent indicators of social well-being also attempt to perceive the moods of citizens. However, we have many ways to know if a city lives in hope. We can see it from the involvement and participation of citizens in the common good, from solidarity towards others, from the attitude towards institutions and, above all, from the life of families and people.
In a year, 2021 which was supposed to be that of rebirth, with the pandemic not yet eradicated and with its very recent fourth wave, from which it seems we are finally emerging, despite some encouraging signs of a vigorous economic recovery, the risk is that mistrust prevails in the experiences of the Romans. This is not surprising, because two such difficult and painful years, like 2020 - 2021, wear everyone out and weigh even more especially on those who were previously forced to live in precarious, if not marginal, conditions. .
Fear, with the advent of vaccines, has given way to confusion and a persistent sense of insecurity for many. with respect to the future and the possibility of recovering certain standards of social and economic liveability. What tends to increase instead is the loneliness of too many people and not only for economic reasons.
Beyond the numbers - which also weigh - It is not yet possible to take stock of what Covid-19 has been in everyone's lives and how its impact has transformed the city we live in. There is something deeper that has changed over the last two years, in experiences, in relationships between and with people, which will be important to shed light on.
The emotional involvement is still too strong, the statistical data is partial, the situations of families and businesses balanced between hope and resignation are precarious, the audience of those who live "frozen" in the numerous support measures introduced by the Government and municipal institutions is vast and regional and thanks to multiple solidarity initiatives carried out thanks to the varied world of volunteering and religious and secular associations.
Health poverty
During 2020, 9.6% of the population declared that they had given up one or more healthcare services despite needing them and half declared they had done so for a cause related to Covid-19. The pandemic has certainly played a decisive role for mental health too if you think that according to the BES Report in 2020 there was a mental health index of 68.8. In particular, compared to the previous year, the worsening of the conditions of people over 75 and people aged 55-64 who live alone is highlighted. The theme of the profound loneliness of elderly people emerges. The worsening of the mental health of women between 20-24 years of age is also significant. Finally, patients with psychiatric pathologies are estimated to increase in 30%.
From a further survey, carried out by the health area of the diocesan Caritas in June 2021 in 87 parish listening centers participating in the "Diocesan network of parishes for health", it emerges that, during the first year of the pandemic, the 18% of the parishes prepared a specific health service.
Among these, the 47% had active interventions “psychological counseling”, the 36% of "dispensing and collection of medicines", the 34 % of "clinic, medical visits, specialist visits", the 18% "collaborations with local associations for medical visits". Among the requests received, even from those who do not have active health services, "support for the purchase of medicines" (81%), "support for the payment of health care tickets" (47%), "accompaniment to medical visits" (44%), “support for obtaining masks” (28%), “specialist medical visits” (22%), “dental care” (9%). In 85% of responses the requests for help came from both Italian and foreign people, while in 13% of cases the requests concerned "mainly Italian people".
Parish operators also highlighted that in 71% cases the "lack of economic resources" motivated the use of the parish; in 48% because the parish is "a place that inspires trust and where it is possible to enter into relationships"; in 28% because they find "qualified operators to guide them" towards the Health Service; in 20% because "they have no other references for information".
