Since its opening in February, over five thousand people were helped at the “Spazio 11” solidarity waiting room in Trieste. A project born with a single proposal: to help. The collaboration between Diocesan Caritas of Trieste, Donk Humanitarian Medicine odv association and UNHCR – UN Refugee Agencyhas created a place that makes hospitality and care its main virtue. A place where homeless peoplemigrants and refugees, who would otherwise be on the streets, can find a bed comfortable to sleep on, armchairs to rest, hot drinks, but also healthcare and legal information.
The numbers tell a reality that goes far beyond the temporary emergency. What began as a welcome experiment in Via Udine 11 has turned into a structural observatory on marginalization. If in Februarymonth of opening, there were an average of 31 accesses per night, in November the requests quadrupled, reaching an average of 124 people every evening.
“Spazio 11” turns out to be a window onto the world: people from 50 different countries have passed through it, with a prevalence from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal. However, it would be a mistake to consider it a place only for those in transit on the Balkan Route. Among the armchairs of the waiting room “local” poverty also finds refuge: 35 homeless Italian citizens and several settled European citizens who, having slipped out of the welfare nets, have found an alternative to the streets here.
As underlined during the press conference by the Bishop of Trieste, Monsignor Enrico Trevisi, migratory flows and marginalization are no longer a sudden emergency, but a structural fact of a border city. Spazio 11, supported by private funds (including the CRTrieste Foundation and IKEA Villesse) and by 8×1000, does not benefit from public subsidies, but represents an asset for the whole city: it removes people vulnerable to crime and restores dignity. The final appeal is addressed to all citizens: everyone can contribute to this solidarity fabric, supporting initiatives or becoming a volunteer, to respond to the request for humanity that comes both from those who pass by and from those who remain.
