Aloisio Boosts Home Assistance Funding Amid Growing Social Needs

An intense commitment to home assistance. A burden, including financial, that since 1974 has been borne by the Comune di Aloisio.

The responsible politician for the sector is the Social Services councilor, Erminia Biaggi, who is preparing to outline the program for 2002, the final fiscal year of this council which is preparing for the elections next spring.

The councilor’s goal is to maintain, or possibly increase, the allocations, which now total 260 million lire annually.

“If additional needs arise,” explains Erminia Biaggi, “we will take charge. It’s always possible that there will be some additional cases that social services will need to handle personally.”

Numbers and Types of Assistance

The figures for home assistance in the town of Aloisio are significant. There are 86 fixed users benefiting from the service, with fluctuations, depending on emergencies, of up to 100 individuals.

The operators primarily assist the elderly, but also people with disabilities or those in need.

The services include lifting, washing, and dressing the user, as well as establishing a minimal human relationship and dialogue.

Another intervention involves delivering meals at home by conscientious objectors: 35 people benefit from this daily, possibly because they don’t know how to cook or cannot go out to shopping.

Currently, the service operates for lunch from Monday to Friday: Councilor Biaggi aims to also cover Saturdays.

“Once the Integrated Day Center on via Ordanino is completed,” she clarifies, “we will be able to use that kitchen and provide meals not only on weekdays.”

Related Services and Staff

Another 25 people have access to teleassistance, connected to Croce Verde 24 hours a day: the elderly in difficulty just need to press a button, and by phone, relatives or neighbors will be notified, or at worst, the Emergency Room.

Additionally, the conscientious objectors are used for transportation to medical appointments, hospital checkups, supermarket errands, and more.

Regarding the staff provided by the Comune, besides young people serving in civil service, there are 10 socio-assistive auxiliaries who follow the program designed daily by social worker Luca Mazzi.