Seventy-five families supported last year by the Umbria Foundation against usury, which provided 120 thousand euros of which 57 thousand to Terni (47% of the total). The identikit of the victim of usury: between 40 and 50 years old, employees, entrepreneurs and separated women. The identikit of the Umbrian loan shark is disconcerting: a family friend or relative, a circumstance that makes complaints more difficult. This is what emerged yesterday in the Province in the presentation of the Foundation’s activity, chaired by Fausto Cardella. Also presented was the “Caro Vita” project, from the same Foundation, which seeks to address the difficulties faced by families with bills, mortgages, unexpected expenses, payments of various kinds, and previous debts. “Obviously – it was underlined – this is money that the Foundation uses to pay but which will then have to be repaid by the debtors in the forms most congenial to them and in line with their real possibilities”. “The usury phenomenon must also emerge in Umbria – states the prefect Giovanni Bruno – and for this reason the memorandum of understanding recently signed between the Foundation and the Carabinieri is a very important tool, just as the help desk opened in the Province is very important”. “We have made a space available – said the president of the Province, Laura Pernazza – for the opening of a listening desk that anyone can turn to; a tool in collaboration with the Municipalities precisely because the Province and local authorities must work as a team on this problem. The diffusion of the culture of legality among the new generations is also very important to raise awareness of the problem and develop a different civil conscience”
President Cardella then illustrated the mission of the Foundation, underlining that today’s problem is not only usury but also the difficulty of citizens in meeting ordinary expenses such as bills or unexpected events.
“The most interested parties – explains the magistrate – are the employees, as well as entrepreneurs and traders. The Foundation assists everyone by extending its activity to a regional level. From this point of view, I thank President Pernazza who gives us very important strategic support. Thank you also to the mayors and the Melasecche regional councilor for the fundamental role of the Region, thanks also to the prefect, the Carabinieri and the Police Headquarters who give us essential support”.
Ste.Cin.
