They were all sitting at dinner together when they wondered how they could transform their homethat place where they had been happy since they were children, in a space that remained alive and was useful also to other people, once they had stopped living there. A welcoming place for everyone. That he was capable – at least in part – of alleviate the suffering of those who were experiencing a dark moment in life. They decided it like this, without thinking too much, Ettore and Anita Righetti and their children, Giampaolo and Federico (today Fra Federico). The house, once left by the parents, would become a space to welcome those who needed accommodation, temporary or long-term. Ettore and Anita specified it in their will shortly after deciding. And they didn’t think about it anymore.
Generosity
«My parents have always been a very generous couple – explains Fra Federico – they made us this proposal and we accepted immediately. We didn’t think it would be so quick to implement. And instead both they died suddenly of Covid in 2020. The foundation started at that timethe the first people entered the house at the beginning of May”.
Structure
The works, financed by the Foundation, have in fact given life to one co-housing space with 7 rooms with private bathroom (4 on the ground floor and 3 on the first floor). The families of Ettore and Anita will enter the ground floor of Ettore and Anita’s family house people being treated at Negra hospitalr who need accommodation to be close to their loved ones (and who will turn to the Cilla association). Upstairs, however, in the three remaining rooms, guests will be welcomed women in housing emergency linked to D-Hub, social cooperative.
The function
«Like Cilla we already have a structure in Verona, in the Borgo Roma area – explains director Claudio Sandrini – we manage around twenty facilities in Italy nearby of the major hospitals. Our association was created to help those who have to undergo treatment in hospital far from home. Both sick people who have to undergo long therapy and who travel alone, but also their family members and friends who accompany them, come to us.” In fact, when you have to travel for therapy, having to also think about accommodation becomes a burden. Especially since in cities the housing emergency is among the hottest topics of daily debate, not to mention that there are also those who speculate on the disease. «There are apartments at incredible prices right next to the hospitals – continues Sandrini -, making those who come for treatment or just to be close to loved ones who are suffering spend crazy amounts of money is inhuman”.
Who needs help
The numbers of those accessing the service are very high. In the Borgo Roma headquarters, Cilla hosted 188 people for 950 total nights in 2023 and many stayed for more than 30 days. Thanks to Ettore and Anita Righetti, now even in Negrar some of the people being treated will be able to face the transition with more serenity. «Common spaces are also fundamental for us – continues Sandrini – places in which to dialogue, share fears and hopes. In which our volunteers will be able to support those who arrive and try to share a smile with them.” Eat-in kitchens, living spaces, a very bright veranda, many terraces and small rooms where volunteers can also stay for a few hours are also found on the upper floor, the one dedicated to D-Hub.
The future
The housing emergency in Verona (as in many cities in the Veneto) however, it is not just temporary. It is widespread, daily and concerns everyone: students, singles, young couples, migrants. «There is a widespread problem that makes it difficult for everyone to rent a house – explains Maria Antonietta Bergamasco, founder of D-Hub – increasingly higher guarantees are requested, to which it is often impossible to respond positively. Besides this there is a total distrust towards people of foreign origin. And this opens up a subletting market with conditions bordering on decency. We therefore think that operations of this type are also useful for combating illegality and for activating a dialogue with the community that perhaps one day will push other people to make the same choice as Ettore and Anita.”
Bergamasco’s idea, in fact, does not stop there. He would like to create a sort of “community space”, opening up to the neighborhood. “There is a large garden, which has a bowling green, a vegetable garden and a terrace – he explains -: I think there are bonds of trust to be rebuilt between people, today more than ever, why not start from here?”.
