Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

From widespread summer centers to the fight against school dropouts, to services to manage parental conflict financed through funds from law 285/1997 and the Wish-Mi project

Milan, June 29 2021 – Milan begins a redesign of welfare policies for its youngest citizens. With a resolution approved by the Council, 13,8 million euros are in fact allocated (deriving from the allocation of funds provided for by law 285/1997 and from a European loan obtained by the Municipality for the Wish-Mi project) dedicated to initiatives and projects to promote the well-being of girls and boys, through the construction of a partnership relationship with the Third Sector, called to collaborate with the Municipality, for the growth of the little ones and for a greater overall articulation of the city's welfare system .

A true "Marshall Plan" also against educational poverty, starting from a system of integrated governance, with tables between the different directions of the Administration and which activates all the opportunities and energies of the territory for the well-being of children and young people, from birth at 18 years old.

"This is – declare the councilors Gabriele Rabaiotti and Laura Galimberti – an important measure that looks specifically at the city of children, more attentive to the needs of the little ones and more ready to respond to new questions and adapt to changes. A path that aims to open up the services and spaces that already exist to the neighbourhood, to the families and to the city, and which wants to strongly involve the schools, together with the Third Sector, but also the volunteers present in the city in a more distant future, it is important to imagine new opportunities for closeness and proximity to the homes we live in, with spaces that can become real civic centers, capable of offering inhabitants both opportunities for meeting, growth and leisure and greater security and garrison of the territory".

While covering the entire city, the strategic plan supported by Law 285 identifies some territorial priorities (the districts of Niguarda, San Siro, Gratosoglio and Corvetto) and some social priorities: there will in fact be particular attention to the most fragile children, to the strengthening of educational, psychological support and entertainment activities, as well as supporting parents in times of crisis.

A first step in this direction has already been taken: the first ten widespread summer centers have opened in recent days, the result of the public notice launched by the Municipality for co-planning and financing (with 250.000 euros, obtained thanks to the law 285) of sporting, educational, artistic and cultural initiatives and projects dedicated to minors between the ages of 6 and 16, divided into homogeneous age groups, for the summer months in the popular neighborhoods beyond the 90/91 ring road and especially in areas with a strong presence of public housing.

There are 16 accredited bodies, which have presented projects for widespread summer centers - completely free for users - which will last a month and must take place in the period between June and September, for 4 hours a day, from Monday to Friday, among green areas , sports centers and above all courtyards of public housing. Various activities are proposed, from sport to environmental, musical, cultural and artistic education in the broadest sense. The Centers are open to all, but the Municipality's social services reserve the right to point out some children in particular, who will therefore have priority.

Furthermore, thanks to these funds, the Sports Department will carry out "Ri-sportiamo", a project worth 500 thousand euros which aims to counteract the abandonment of basic sporting activity following the shutdown imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. 2.500, with a return to socialization through the practice of sports disciplines at the facilities of the Municipality of Milan. A public notice will identify the concessionaires of sports facilities in the Municipality of Milan, to whom funding of a minimum of XNUMX euros will be allocated for each project.

Increasing the basic and competitive sporting activity of minors means not only improving their psycho-physical well-being but also increasing their participation in inclusive and quality activities with a strong educational, social, training and social integration value.

A special project worth almost 1,4 million euros and will be launched during the 2021-22 school year is the one dedicated to lower secondary school students and aimed at combating school dropout and promoting the educational success of boys and girls. girls through their involvement in extracurricular empowerment and accompaniment activities. The initiative, which is called "School hub", will transform some target schools into hubs with high "educational intensity" within which minors will also have the opportunity to benefit from psycho-socio-educational support. All activities will be designed together with the school community and can be carried out in collaboration with local authorities, to ensure that the school opens up to a community educational process. The experimentation of the project will start in the target neighborhoods of Selinunte, Corvetto, Niguarda and Gratosoglio.

Within the year, two important lines of intervention will be activated to support boys and girls placed in families with difficulties linked to high levels of conflict and their parents' status as prisoners.

The "Restricted motherhood" project, which will last 24 months, is aimed at children who live with their mothers inside the Bollate penitentiary institutions and the Icam (attenuated custody institution for detained mothers) as well as in the alternatives to detention and provides 300 thousand euros to give these minors the opportunity to benefit from local resources, participating - accompanied by professional educators - in trips, neighborhood parties and other social occasions.

The "Link - beyond conflict" project, however, starts from the observation of the growth of parental conflict in the context of separation which leads to the increase (from 20% in 2019 to 22% in 2020) of assignments to social services by of the court that considers a risk to the well-being of the children. The objective of the service, in which the Municipality will invest 1,2 million euros for 24 months, is to establish a multidisciplinary team within which there are various professionals (psychologists, mediators, sociologists and social workers) who will work with parents and children to protect family ties and prevent conflict between adults from having repercussions on the children, with particular attention to maintaining the relationship with the non-custodial parent, who is often the father.

The planning of the activities will continue in the coming years: the transfer of funds provided for by law 2022/2023 is also expected for 285 and 1997.