There is a Christmas that doesn’t shine with lights, doesn’t smell like panettone, doesn’t resonate with laughter around a laid table. It is the Christmas of those who, in those hours that are magical for many, find themselves counting the empty walls of their home, the weight of a silent telephone, the echo of a loneliness that, in those days, becomes unbearable. It’s for them — for those who experience December 25th as a sentence, not as a celebration — which for years Telefono Amico Italia has lit a light in the night: the non-stop listening marathon, a direct line that, from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, never goes out.
Last year, 755 people dialed the Telefono Amico Italia number between 24 and 26 December: +21% compared to 2023a fact that tells of an increasingly widespread reality. Women (53%) and men (46%), mostly adults between 46 and 65, sought a friendly voice to combat the silence. 86% called the toll-free number (02 2327 2327), 11% wrote on WhatsApp, 3% used email. Loneliness was the main reason (28%), followed by existential problems (11%) and family difficulties (10%).
«They call us people who experience loneliness acutely – says Anna, a volunteer for years -. Many are elderly, others feel betrayed by family disputes. Christmas, for them, is the day when the distance from others becomes a wall. But sometimes just an “I’m here” is enough to lighten that burden.»
The network widens: Turin and Reggio Calabria enter the field
From December 2025, Telefono Amico Italia becomes even closer to those in need: two new local centers open in Turin and Reggio Calabria, bringing the active offices throughout Italy to 23 (22 physical and 1 virtual, TAG – Telefono Amico Generation). «With 100 more volunteers, we can respond to more and more requests for help», explains Cristina Rigon, president of the association. «This year alone we have received over 85,000but we know there are many more. Every new voice joining us means one less person left alone.”
Telefono Amico Italia never stops: 365 days a year, from 9am to midnight, its almost 700 volunteers are ready to listen. Anyone who wants to join can write to voluntary@telefonoamico.it and participate in a 6-month training course. For young people between 18 and 40 who live in the city without a local centre, there is TAG – Telefono Amico Generation, the virtual headquarters.
«It’s a life-changing commitment – confesses Anna -. Giving your time to those who no longer have any to give is a gesture that enriches you. Especially at Christmas, when the world seems to celebrate joy, but for some it’s just another day to survive.”
In an age where everything seems connected, loneliness is a silent epidemic. Telefono Amico Italia knows this well, and for this reason it never turns off the phone. «Christmas – concludes Cristina Rigon – should be a moment of closeness. For us, it really is: because being there, on the other end of the line, can make the difference between a dark day and a light that, even if small, warms the heart.»
For information:
02 2327 2327 (telephone service)
324 011 7252 (WhatsApp Friend)
