Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, January 17 2020 - Sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic and religious origin, physical disability are still reasons for discrimination today. Unfortunately, many people suffer the socio-psychological repercussions. 
The anti-discrimination Help center of the House of Rights of Milan was created to respond to this social problem, a multimedia help desk that since January has been offering attentive listening and concrete and specialized help to those who suffer this type of discrimination through a toll-free number, a protected chat and a dedicated email.

The Help center was born from the joint work of the Amici della Casa dei Diritti association which brought together the Telemaco Milano partners of Jonas Onlus, A.GE.D.O. Milan Onlus, Jesurum Social Energies Association, PONS Association – Academy of training in psychological arts and practices, Lo sbuffo Association, VOX Association – Italian Rights Observatory, Soccorso Rosa ONLUS. The project was financed by the Municipality of Milan with ministerial funds from Law 285/1997.

“The house of rights – declares the councilor for social and housing policies Gabriele Rabaiotti – was born with the aim of representing a single center for the affirmation of everyone's rights, but also for the defense of those that are violated every day . This is why it makes a lot of sense that the help center finds its starting point right in Via De Amicis, in a city that, also thanks to initiatives like this, has chosen to stand on the side of those who are discriminated against and excluded. The path started by those who preceded me affirms that we cannot limit ourselves to declarations or symbolic positions, but that we need, above all, concrete actions that can help citizens not to feel alone in this battle of civilization".

To speak especially to young people, we chose to focus on volunteers trained in a cycle of university meetings and to use more immediate communication channels. Requests for help will be handled in the first contact by a group of volunteers coordinated by the Lo sbuffo Association, who will offer citizens information and guidance, directing them, if necessary, towards free professional support with a team of psychologists from Telemaco Milano - available for individual interviews and consultations - and a team of Soccorso rosa lawyers for legal opinions. The service will be reachable on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 17pm to 19pm and Tuesday and Thursday from 10am to 12pm via a protected live chat on the website www.aiutoantidiscriminazione.net, on the telephone or via email.

“The Help center - explains Mauro Grimoldi President of the House of Rights - is based on two basic principles. The first, the ability to adapt to the forms of communication that younger people use to tell each other the most delicate and difficult things that happen to them, using chat, email and toll-free numbers, which make communication with volunteers immediate and fluid. Second novelty, for the first time the Help center does not stop at the response, however fundamental, of the volunteers, but has behind it a Municipality active against discrimination and dedicated professional support, both legal and psychological".

The volunteers, trained between October and December 2019, will cover the service by responding via telephone, chat or email. Furthermore, the work of the volunteers will generate awareness-raising events, seminars open to the public, dissemination activities on the risks of discrimination and on ways to defend oneself or one's loved ones, precious moments to raise awareness of the service and reach a larger number of users in need. support.