Casa Santa Chiara is ready to open its doors. Casa Santa Chiara is a new space within the monumental complex of Santa Chiara, refurbished and redecorated in the frame of Ragazzi Harraga.  It will host a group of young migrants - who have just turned 18.  They will live together and test an innovative and sustainable co-housing model in Albergheria, one of Palermo districts.

8 youngsters will live in Casa Santa Chiara for one year so as to continue the personal learning journey towards self-awareness and self-empowerment they started during Ragazzi Harraga workshops. These youngsters will then hand the baton to another group of peers who will have the opportunity to enhance their integration process and become part of Palermo community.

Casa Santa Chiara is both a pilot project and a fundamental step of Ragazzi Harraga: CIAI has been working for 50 years in Italy and in different parts of the world so that children are never left alone.  This initiative is an important achievement for us as it promotes a new integration and reception model. Moreover, it allowed us to build a strong network of partner organisations: each of them is important to ensure a fruitful integration process. 

–  Paola Crestani, Director of CIAI.

Casa Santa Chiara is a real house, cozy and comfortable, open to all the young migrants who have just turned 18, have left institutional care but still need to be supported so as to become autonomous. Thanks to Ragazzi Harraga, we gave 400 young migrants the opportunity to participate in a series of workshops and to access to labour market. However, we could not overlook a delicate moment such as the beginning of adulthood. In fact, the positive effects of the most structured inclusion processes can be nullified if these youngsters are suddenly left alone.

–  Alessandra Sciurba, Ragazzi Harraga coordinator and CIAI representative

We invite all our local community to take part in Casa Santa Chiara’s opening along with its first guests. The event will be held on May 21^st, 2018 at 17:30.

Opening remarks by

Don Enzo Volpe, Director of Salesian Community in Santa Chiara

With the participation of Moni Ovadia, actor and writer.

The panel will be composed of:

• Don Enzo Volpe, Director of Salesian Community in Santa Chiara;
• Paola Crestani, CIAI Director;
• Lino D’Andrea, Municipal Ombudsman for Childhood and Adolescence;
• Giuseppe Mattina, Council representative for Social Citizenship - Municipality of Palermo;
• Angela Natoli, Social Cooperative Libera…mente;
• Maria Cristina Negro, Project manager “Never Alone, per un domani possibile”;
• Carmelo Pollichino, Libera Palermo Director;
• Don Giuseppe Ruta, Inspector of Sicilian Salesian Community.

The panel discussion will be moderated by Alessandra Sciurba, CIAI, Ragazzi Harraga coordinator. 

Refreshments will be provided by Moltivolti

Casa Santa Chiara has been redecorated and refurbished recently thanks to Ragazzi Harraga. It is a long-term sustainable project as a hostel will be opened on the same premises. Thus, young migrants could work there and test a new reception and social interaction model.