Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Rabaiotti: “We will give new life to a property where illegality once reigned and we will return it to those who have less”

Milan, August 16 2019 – Almost 500 square meters distributed over two floors, plus a large 90 square meter terrace and a large fenced garden. It is the building confiscated in 2010 from organized crime in via Ripamonti 580, a former night club which will become, starting from next winter, a reception place for the homeless with their four-legged friends.

After an experiment carried out during the last cold plan, when the structure was opened from January to May to offer a night service to fifty homeless people in the colder months, the Administration decided with a resolution to allocate this structure in a permanent hospitality to those who have no home and live on the streets. And given that the building is surrounded by a large garden, the welcome will be dedicated in particular to the homeless and their pets.

The Municipality will launch a public notice by September to find subjects available to co-design the service. Those who apply - alone or in the form of a group - must have experience in dealing with the homeless, but also skills in the protection of animal rights or in the management of kennel parks.

For the maintenance of the structure, the Municipality has provided a loan of 584 thousand euros for an agreement lasting 27 months, starting from October 2019 and until December 2021. The entity that wins the tender will then have to make co-financing available equal to at least 10% of the resources invested by the Administration, which may be used to set up the structure.

“Milan – declares the councilor for social and housing policies Gabriele Rabaiotti – is increasingly establishing a housing offer for those without a home that has no equal in Italy. We thought of dedicating the structure in via Ripamonti to welcoming homeless people who have an animal as a life companion because they are often the so-called diehards on the street, the ones most reluctant to accept hospitalization in municipal centres. The fact that this happens in a structure confiscated from organized crime allows us to achieve a double objective: giving new life to a property where illegality previously reigned and returning it to those who have less." 

“For people who find themselves homeless – adds Paola Fossati, Guarantor for the protection of animals of the Municipality –, having a dog is, in many cases, the only form of 'family bond' possible, from which they do not intend to separate. This is why it is important that the Municipality has chosen to make the structure in via Ripamonti available to welcome the homeless and their animals, ensuring that both can find shelter and assistance there. Furthermore, this opportunity is designed as an extended project for the purpose of social reintegration, therefore, every time people are able to improve their condition, we can be confident that the animals that share life with them will also benefit."

The centre, which will have fifty beds available, will have to remain open 24 hours a day, to allow guests to experience it as a home and to take advantage of social inclusion paths which will include, where possible, access to internships, scholarships work and everything that is necessary to start becoming independent. The stay is intended as temporary (six months extendable for another six) and subject to adherence to the personalized re-inclusion project.
The facility will also have staff specialized in animal care, such as veterinarians and dog trainers.

The Administration, in collaboration with the winner of the tender, will draw up a decalogue of rules of conduct which will take into account the new Regulation for the welfare and protection of animals approved by the Council and which will have to begin its process in the City Council shortly.