Fighting the crisis from the streets of Turin

Teresa Bella, or Sister Teresa, is a Vincentian nun. She and eight other nuns work in a centre for poor people in Turin, northern Italy. “We’ve seen everything change here over the past two years. And the real tragedy is that of those who lose their homes.”  She has  managed the welcoming centre for 28 years, providing the needy from 5 in the morning to night. As time passes, she says, the more her workload increases.  The centre in fact provides food (breakfast and cold supper), clothes, social services helpdesk, doctor’s surgery and temporary care facilities.  It occupies two stores of an disused city hospital.  Despite the fact that over the course of the years, the centre has been enlarged many times, Sister Bella says it is still too small.  The canteen hosts around 80 people daily, with three sittings generally not being enough..

How many people work in your centre?

We are eight nunsplus one who works from the street.  There are also the many volunteers who come and help us, from the cook to the cleaning lady. Then there are the social services helpdesk personnel – very competent people, and the doctors, which amounts to an extra 12.

How is the global financial crisis seen from the centre? Are people’s need for help increasing?

Yes.  But mainly it is poverty which is increasing: people who were previously doing well, are now being forced to ask for help.

There is this family I have come to know for example: father worked very hard, managing to send his daughters to private schools. Then he lost his job.  Now, six months later, the family does not have anything anymore.  They received notice to leave their house, they were forced to live in misery and so they ended up here.  They find it very hard being poor, previously they didn’t need anyone’s help and now they need everything.  There are many cases like this one.

Is it a phenomenon of the last few months?

No. As a matter of fact we have started noticing it in the last couple of years.  People often work in pairs, so they have the possibility to have a house, a car, holidays, then one loses their job and expenses are reduced; but if both lose their job what do they do? They lose their house.  For this reason I tell the State: stop evictions.

Do you also manage to host the homeless?

We have 22 accommodation facilities in all. Two belong to us, the others have been made available free of charge, plus accommodation facilities for sick people and a care facility on Saccarelli street with 25 premises which have been donated.

Who do you host in Saccarelli street?

Mothers with children and girls, ex-prostitutes. I didn’t want to separate them and make a ghetto. They all lead a normal life even if some don’t go out for a while.

Do you help them look for a job?

Yes, because when people say assistance it annoys me. The point is promotion, social inclusion. They must go to school.  With an education qualification they often manage to integrate back into society.  It’s all about education, because if we educate a child well we will have a good family, a good society, a good nation.

Can you give me an example?

There are two Albanian girls here, without parents.  They go to school, and they also study information technology.  One day they asked me if they could attend a dance course, because they imagined their future in that way.  They said they would clean to pay for it, so I lent them the money to get started.  We must promote, not just assist.